An Affliction of the Heart
by Xianyu
Summary: Can a creature that feeds on love ever truly feel it? Rated T for mature themes and sexual references. Focus is on Changeling x Royal guard romance.
1. Captive

Blood slowly trickled from the changeling's nose, dribbling onto the ground. Her ears were ringing, her head was pounding, and her blue eyes were foggy and unfocused. She had been close to the epicentre of the love blast, and as such had worn the worst of it.

The name she had chosen for herself was 'Kuno', a word from across the sea. But Kuno was in trouble. She was laying in a field, on her side, nose bleeding, ears ringing with a strange, dull cadence, and every single bone hurting. Her eyes hurt, her head hurt, her shoulders hurt, her wings felt mangled, and her energy reserves were dangerously low. She could _feel_ the blood trickling from her nose and there was a dried trail of it leading from either ear.

Her limbs were heavy and unwieldy, and too many parts of her body were damaged for her to change. It was almost impossible for a changeling to transform an injured portion of their body, be it heavy bruising, a broken bone, deep abrasions, or even some kinds of rashes. With her battered, beaten body, Kuno was certain she wouldn't be able to transform for several days.

And there she was, lying in a field, in the open. She couldn't even ascertain how long she had been laying there. It was afternoon, from the quality of the sunlight, but which afternoon? How long had she been laying in the grass?

She was hungry, in that unique way of the changelings. She needed to feed upon the love of another pony, but how she would manage that now, in her current state, she did not know. Even her hunger was no indication of how much time had passed. A hunger like this she had only known once in her relatively short lifetime, in her time aboard a merchant vessel headed for Equestrian shores. There had been no ponies that were in love for her to feed upon, and none of them were interested in the advances of 'Starstreak', the persona she had taken on for the journey. Hunger had gnawed at her stomach for the entire journey, and when she had reached Equestria, her first act had been to find the nearest hospital and take the place of a terminally ill cancer patient. It was amazing how much love ponies had for others of their kind in need.

With her energy drained from the love blast, she had no way to know if she'd lain in the field for a few hours or a few days. Even her wounds weren't healing. That was a bad sign. A changeling's healing ability was almost directly linked to the amount of love they were receiving. At full strength, a wound that would put a normal pony in a hospital bed for a month, would merely inconvenience a changeling for a day or so.

Kuno groaned faintly as she tried to move. Her shoulders ached, and her wings burned as she tried to shift them. Vague recollections of tumbling through the air came to her, and the hard impact of the ground rushing up to meet her. Her bones had that strange 'newly healed' sensation to them, that clean, fresh feel like mint in ones mouth, except inside her bones. Perhaps that was where most of her energy had gone?

A sudden touch at her side made Kuno clench her teeth and try to shift away. It took her so, so long to be able to even turn her head to see what it was that touched her.

The changeling's eyes widened as she caught sight of a Royal Guard, standing beside her, spear held at the ready, it's rock-steady tip almost touching her face.

She was done. There was nothing she could do.

Kuno gave a soft groan, and then just relaxed onto her side, half-closing her eyes, staring up at the guard. There was nothing left to do. It was over.

The guard stared down at her, blue eyes narrowed and intent under his helmet. The metal armor he wore gleamed in the sunlight, bright and almost blinding in its intensity. Locks of a blue mane, damp with sweat, protruded from under the edge of the guards helmet, glimmering weakly in the light.

Kuno stared up at that guard, her unnamed executioner, and then slowly closed her eyes, ready for the end.

Several long moments passed, and then there was a tap at her shoulder: the blunt flat of the spear tapping against her to get her attention.

The changeling opened her eyes, blinking slowly up at the guard, not comprehending. His mouth was moving, but he didn't seem to be making any sound.

It took Kuno a full three seconds to comprehend that she was now deaf.

A weary hoof lifted to try and halt the guard's words, and she winced at the effort of moving her aching limb.

The guard said something, his expression morphing into one of anger. The blunt bottom of the spear came down on the back of her head, and Kuno saw only darkness.

Consciousness returned slowly, and the changeling gave a muted groan, her eyelids fluttering as they sought to open. Now, a large lump on her head hurt in addition to everything else.

A brief inspection revealed that she was laying on a cot of some kind, a wooden thing that was flush against a wooden wall, with a sheet and a rough blanket on the cot itself. The floor was bare, dirt, and raked, as though recently cleaned. A bowl of water sat on a nearby shelf, with a cup next to it, and what appeared to be another bowl of some kind of food she didn't recognize.

Other than those few furnishings, there was the door, made of what appeared to be solid oak, and a single window that was too small for the changeling to fit through. It had no glass, but a single wooden cross-brace in the centre.

Kuno stirred faintly, her gossamer wings twitching, before she managed to push herself to her hooves with a whimper. Her hooves stretched and straightened, locking into place, her teeth baring at the effort it took.

Stiff-legged, the changeling dropped down off the cot, giving a soft groan of pain at the shock of her hooves hitting the ground, before she staggered over to the door, pushing on it appraisingly. The door gave a little bit, and then jiggled faintly as it hit some kind of blockage. A bar, or lock. Kuno was almost painfully aware of the fact that she couldn't hear the door jiggling.

Giving up on the door for now, the changeling instead turned her attention to the two bowls.

A quick sniff around the edge of the bowl she assumed was filled with water ascertained that it _was_ just water. Or if it was laced with anything else, she couldn't smell it.

Kuno dipped her muzzle down, and then lapped gently at the water, letting it wash over her tongue. Using the cup would have been the more efficient, civilised means, but she always felt odd having a cup against her fangs.

Next up was the... food. Or whatever it was in the bowl. It smelled like food. Kuno wrinkled her nose at it, leaning in to snuffle delicately at the brown mush. It had been many weeks since Kuno had eaten actual food. Food to a changeling, was like water to a pony. It could sustain them, but it was insufficient for much more than that.

Giving a long-suffering sigh, Kuno scooped the bowl close to her chest, wincing at the sensation of her muscles protesting, and brought the bowl up to her lips. She believed that this was called a 'stew'. There were pulpy bits of vegetables and fruits in it, and a single celery stick half-out of the bowl, with the bottom half soggy and limp.

Kuno wrinkled her nose again, but lifted the celery stalk to her lips, placing it in her mouth and glumly chewing on it.

After the soggy, slimy bottom half of the celery stick was consumed, the rest of it was pleasantly crunchy, and it took very little time for her to finish it. Once the celery was gone, she started on the bowl of stew, quickly devouring it with a sudden ravenous hunger.

Kuno sighed once the stew was gone, placing aside the bowl. She tried to rise to her hooves, but the world tilted crazily around her. The changeling stumbling, and then sank to her stomach, her eyes wide. Her muscles were protesting at the movements, but this was something else entirely. It took a few moments for her to realise that the food was likely drugged.

And then she was asleep again.

Kuno came to, to the sensation of being moved. Her eyes fluttered open, and she saw the outside world for a brief few seconds. She was laying on what felt like straw, in the back of a small cart. Her head was too heavy to lift and look ahead at who was drawing the cart, but from what little she could see, she was being moved from the dirt-floor hut. The cart jolted over something, and they entered a doorway.

The inside of a building greeted her eyes, dark panelled walls passing by as she was borne on the cart down a long hallway. They turned into a room, and the cart stopped.

Kuno felt hooves on her, and then a powerful pony picked her up and deposited her - surprisingly gently - on a floor bed. She could just see the hooves of a white pony, before she was laid down on the bed. She assumed that it was the guard that had found her in the field, though she couldn't be sure. The drug was still coursing through her system, and she couldn't move. It was a little-known fact that drugs were barely effective on changelings. Their immune systems and unique biology rendered poisons and toxins of all kinds basically useless. Not to say that there was no effect from them: the drug, combined with her already weakened state was working as a rather powerful paralytic, even if she had shaken off the induced unconscious.

It was a good fifteen minutes before Kuno could muster up the energy to move. Rolling over, she found that her new room was much more civilised. There was a basin in the corner, with a tap that she assumed had running water, a wooden shelf with a cup on it, an eye-level window with bars across it, and even a large mirror. The bed was build into the wall itself, as a single wooden construction. There was a thin mattress, a sheet, a blanket, and a pillow atop it.

Kuno ignored the window for now—the bars were too small for her to fit through—and instead went over to the mirror.

The rather shocking countenance of an injured changeling met her. There were bruises all around her eyes, dried blood at her nose and under her ears, and she was _dirty_. She wanted nothing more than to find a stream to bathe in, but it seemed that that would be out of the question.

The changeling paused, and then looked thoughtful, before leaning down to inspect the floor around the mirror. There was dust here, with what seemed to be hastily-swept wood shavings. Frowning, Kuno lifted a hoof, and placed it on the mirror, leaning to the side to peer at where her hoof and the mirror met. The two images were perfectly flush. Kuno knew that a regular mirror did not work like this. When you placed a hoof against a regular mirror, the two images would never touch. This meant that this mirror was a _magical_ mirror. Magical mirrors were employed for very few reasons: they didn't fog when they were exposed to water vapor, they didn't get dirty or scuffed, they were almost impossible to break, and, most importantly for her current situation, they could be used as a one-way-mirror.

Kuno scowled at the magic mirror, imagining who could be on the other side of it. Obviously, somepony wanted to be able to watch her without being seen.

Sniffing once, the changeling turned to the basin, inspecting it. It was a sturdy porcelain model, reinforced with metal bolts and fastenings to prevent it being loosened. A pipe led from the base of it, into the wall, and possibly somewhere outside. A quick twist of the tap brought a stream of fresh water.

Kuno took a few moments to tidy herself up, splashing water over her face to try and wake herself up out of the groggy state the drugs had left her in. The dried blood at her nose and ears took a little bit of scrubbing to clear, and when she was done, she used the case off her pillow to dry her face and neck. Feeling a little bit less like a wild, savage creature, Kuno moved back over to the mirror, and folded the edges of the pillowcase against the top of the mirror, holding it there for a few moments so that the moist edges would stick and hold, before releasing it. The pillowcase would remain there for a few minutes, until it dried and fell free, and she liked to think she was frustrating whoever might be watching.

Then, the changeling went over to the window, lifting her forehooves up onto the sill and peering out. A neat garden met her eyes, with a clearly defined path paved with rocks, roses, brightly coloured flowers, bushes, trees, and even some creeper vines. There was what appeared to be a vegetable patch further out, tomato bushes and strawberries planted in neat rows. Beyond the bounds of the garden was what appeared to be the side of a mountain. Forest covered the slope, and Kuno couldn't be sure, but she _thought_ that the house was somewhere near the base of the mountain that held Canterlot. Which meant that they weren't in Ponyville, or Canterlot itself.

The changeling frowned to herself, thinking back, trying to force her slow mind to comprehend everything. She had seen nothing of any other guards. As far as she knew, it was just the one guard that had captured her. Then, why wasn't she taken to the outpost in Ponyville, or even directly to Canterlot?

The feel of something against her side made Kuno jump, and she yelped in surprise, dancing away, stumbling and then falling to her chest as her balance gave out. She pulled herself to her hooves again, blinking up at the guard. He had entered the room sometime while she was staring out the window, and she hadn't been able to hear it. He was in full armor, and holding a spear. In one hoof, he held a brown collar, with an unlocked padlock on the front of it. Kuno stared at the collar.

The guard said something, swinging the collar at her.

Kuno splayed her ears backwards, and lowered her head. She bared her teeth as the collar was slipped over her neck, but made no other complaint. The collar was pressed down over the frill at the back of her head, and then fastened into place. The felt, but didn't hear the padlock clicking closed. A tether was attached to it, leading from the collar to her captors front right hoof, ensuring that she couldn't fly away to escape.

And then, she was being tugged forth out the door. Kuno followed the lead of the tether willingly, but meekly. Whatever fate awaited her was inescapable.

The guard led her through what appeared to be a simple home, and to the bathroom. He sat down beside the door, on the left side, allowing her to enter the bathroom and take care of her business, while still being able to keep an eye on her.

Kuno took the offer willingly, running water to fill the tub with a few inches of cold water, and then dumping herself in it, finding a sponge and beginning to scrub rapidly at her form to get it clean. The cool water was refreshing, and it felt good to be clean again. The soap was scented with some kind of strange aroma, and Kuno disdained it, instead just using water and a scrubbing motion to get her chitin clean. After ten or so minutes, she was done, scrabbling out of the tub and finding a clean white towel hanging up. A quick scrub from the towel got her dry, although the towel itself came away slightly browned from the ordeal.

Kuno dropped the towel itself on the floor, and then strode out of the bathroom, feeling much more herself.

The guard halved her tether with a single sweep of a hoof, holding it firmly so that she couldn't use the slack to move too far away, before pointing ahead and saying something.

Kuno scowled at him, and then walked in the direction indicated, passing into what appeared to be a lounge room. A large table was set for dinner, with two settings, one at either end of the table. A bowl of soup sat at both ends, as well as a loaf of bread.

Her tether was affixed to a metal loop on one of the supporting posts next to the table, by way of a carabiner, which was then reinforced with a second padlock.

The guard moved around to the far end of the table, and slipped off his helmet, leaning his spear against the side of the table, carefully out of the changeling's reach, and then he took his place.

Kuno looking between the guard and the table, and then assumed that the other place could only be for her, and tentatively pulled herself up onto the chair, looking up at the guard for reassurance.

The guard nodded curtly.

Kuno reached out, and took the loaf of bread, breaking it in half and digging out some of the soft white loaf in the centre, chewing on it thoughtfully. A single push of her hoof rolled the other half of the bread to the guard's side of the table.

The guard looked up, looking the changeling up and down appraisingly, and then took the half a loaf of bread, breaking a piece off to dip into his own soup, watching her.

The changeling dug out most of the centre of her bread, and then spooned a portion of the stew into it, before beginning to eat the entire roll at once with neat bites. It wasn't very filling, but it was food. Without love to feed on, she had to make do, and a good meal would at least keep her going for a little while longer.

And always, the guard watched her, as though waiting for her to pull off some kind of sudden daring escape plan.

Kuno just continued to meekly eat her meal.

A little while into the meal, Kuno became aware of the pony trying to say something to her. She looked up, and then shook her head helplessly at the movements of the pony's mouth.

"I can't hear you," Kuno said flatly, before turning back to her food.

The changeling was vaguely aware of the pony saying something else, and looked up at him, shaking her head again. She lifted a hoof to cut him off. "I _really_ can't you," she said, exasperated, "my ears are damaged. I haven't been able to hear a thing since the field."

The pony lapsed into silence at that, and Kuno figured she was clear of any attempted conversation. A minute later however, a notepad was slid under her nose, with the writing on it:

**Do you have a name?**

Kuno looked up at the pony, frowning deeply. He was standing closer now, and he had his spear in hoof, the tip slightly angled forwards, ready to lower at the first sign of trouble.

"They call me Fleetwing," Kuno lied smoothly. She wasn't sure, but she thought her voice was hoarse. It felt like it, but it was impossible to know since she couldn't actually hear it.

The notepad was retrieved, and then something else written in it.

**I am Warden. Do not try to escape.**

Kuno rolled her eyes. "The collar, chain, locked doors, and one-way-window sure hadn't clued me into the fact that I'm a prisoner."

The pony moved away, and Kuno saw that he was a pegasus. This confused her. The magic mirror in her 'cell' room had seemed like a recent addition, but he was not a unicorn.

"Are there more of you?" Kuno asked.

Pausing, the pony looked back over his shoulder, and then moved back close to her again, sliding the notepad back under her nose, with a new message on it.

**There are many more of us. Do not try to escape.**

"You keep reiterating that," Kuno said with a long-suffering sigh. "And I really don't believe you. It was you who found me, you who carried me to that room, and you who are here now. I think you're alone. Though I can't fathom why you didn't take me straight to Ponyville or Canterlot..."

Kuno delighted in the look of surprise and dismay that flickered over Warden's face at her words. She was smugly pleased with being able to catch him off guard like that.

Instead of responding directly, the pony wrote something else on the pad, and then slid a small red tablet towards her.

**Do not make me force you to take this.**

Kuno looked down at the tablet, and then back up at the pony. "You're drugging me again?"

The guard nodded once, making an addendum on the notepad.

**It is a magic suppressant. It seems it also has side effects amongst changelings.**

Kuno frowned deeply. She knew of these magic suppressants: special drugs usually laced amongst the food of prisoners, that suppressed a unicorn's, or apparently, a changeling's magical talents.

Frowning the changeling scooped up the tablet, and then tossed it back dry, swallowing it and wrinkling her nose.

The guard raised a brow at her expectantly.

Kuno gave an exasperated sigh, and opened her mouth up to show him that she wasn't holding the tablet behind her tongue, before she was allowed to close her mouth.

Barely seconds later, the changeling began to feel drowzy. Her eyelids became heavy, and she placed her chin on the desk. The notepad was slid back towards her, with new writing upon it, but the darkness gathering at the edges of Kuno's view overcame her all of a sudden, and she slipped into unconsciousness.


	2. Collared

Kuno awoke in the room. The wooden ceiling was the first thing she saw. Her head was still buzzing from the magic-depressant, and she felt groggy and listless.

The changeling rolled off the bed with a low groan, landing shakily on her hooves and then shaking her head a few times and try and clear it. Her room had a new addition: a chair and desk, with a hoofful of books spread across it.

Kuno made her way over to the desk, pushing the books around to glance at their titles. There were adventure novels, romance novels, fiction and nonfiction. All different kinds of books. Daring Do was a recurring theme.

It was utterly bizarre. Kuno didn't know what to make of it.

A single royal guard had taken her into custody, and was apparently keeping her at his own _house_. These were not normal cell furnishings, she was sure: she had spent as much time as possible as far away from jail cells as she could. But a wooden room, with newly-installed one-way-window, a view to a garden, and a _collar_? These were not normal imprisonment conditions.

And it would a unicorn to install the one-way-window, that much Kuno knew. So Warden had gone to all the trouble of making up this room to keep her contained? If the Royal Guard at large knew of her position, and her existence, then she was certain that she would have been taken to the Canterlot Palace for public execution. Or banished from Equestria at the very least.

And yet, here she was. If Warden was alone as her jailor, then he would have had to contract somepony out to make his one-way-window. It was a lot of trouble to go through to keep a single changeling contained, and now there were books for her to amuse herself with, as though Warden was concerned about her mental wellbeing as well.

Her ruminations were interrupted by the appearance of a shadow at her feet, and before the touch came at her shoulder, she knew it was coming. A notepad was thrust under her nose.

**I am leaving for the day. Do not try to escape.**

Kuno pondered on suggesting that the guard just make 'Do not try to escape' the header of all the notes. But under that was another sentence.

**You will be allowed to use the rooms while I am away. Is there anything special you need?**

Kuno blinked at that, looking up at the guard. "...Special?"

The guard nodded once.

"As in... dietary?" the changeling queried, confused.

A tentative nod was her answer.

Kuno gave a derisive laugh. "You could start by finding me a willing pony to take love from. Other than that, no. I will slowly waste away and die no matter what you feed me. You could get me a better collar though. One with a bell."

The guard looked her up and down, his expression clearly confused, wondering if she was being sarcastic or truthful, before he about-faced and walked away.

Kuno took a few steps forwards, and laid her hoof on the door in time to hear it vibrate, clicking locked. The changeling rolled over onto her back, wiggling slightly and splaying her wings out. She calmed her breathing, and then closed her eyes, concentrating. It was odd not being able to hear anything, but she could feel the vibrations of the guard's hoofbeats against the wooden floor through her sensitive wing membranes.

She heard him walk down the hallway, pause, and then come back. By the time the door opened, Kuno had rolled back over onto her stomach and was looking up at the guard expectantly.

The hoof that was not holding his spear held the tether outstretched.

Kuno gave a long-suffering sigh, and reached up to throat, finding that the padlock there was open. She stepped closer to the guard, cooperating, allowing the tether to be clipped into place. The guard snapped the padlock shut, and then held the other end of the tether. She was led out into the hall, trailing behind Warden. He ambled up to a post near the bathroom, and then hooked her tether to the iron ring.

And then, Warden carefully walked past her, sliding his helmet on and walking out the front door.

Kuno very quickly discovered that Warden was meticulous in his preparation. With her tether just outside the bathroom, she could reach the facilities in the bathroom itself, some of the kitchen, the table at which they had eaten dinner, and, if she stretched as far as she could, she could _just_ touch one of the windows with a hoof.

The drawers in the kitchen had been emptied, the cupboards in the bathroom were bare (except for a vial containing magic suppressant pills: some kind of sadistic joke), and everything that she could use to fashion into a weapon or perhaps some kind of tool to free herself, had been removed.

So instead, Kuno did the only thing a changeling in her position could possibly do.

She ran a hot bath, and lazed around in it with a half of a magic suppression tablet to take the edge off her pain.

While indulging in her amphibious side, Kuno tried the soap, scrubbing it across her form and the vigorously rubbing at her chitin to make sure the scent was removed. After that, it was just lazing. The half tablet she took had mulled her senses, and dulled the pain that had been building in the base of her wings and behind her eyes. Time was meaningless like that, and before she knew it, the flat of a spear was waking her up.

Kuno's eyes fluttered open, and she blinked up at Warden, giving a grunt of acknowledgement. awkwardly, she slipped and slid to her hooves, the water slippery with the soap in it.

A steadying hoof from Warden helped her crawled free of the tub, and then a towel was thrown over her shoulders. Some vigorous rubbing across her form got her dry, and she was pleased to find that the towel came away clean, with just the faintest hint of brown at its edges.

Warden was still watching her from the doorway.

He waited for her to be done, and then led her to the table. Once more, she was given bread and stew, a rather bland meal. Kuno sat at her side of the table, chewing on her bread and stew glumly. The tether was just far enough away that she had to lift the centre of it off the floor, and it was putting a constant slight pressure on her collar that was _infuriating_. Ever little sway and jolt of the tether, she could feel quite acutely as a tug or pull on her collar.

Kuno finished her meal first, and then sat there, watching Warden as he finished his own.

"So... why are you keeping me here?" Kuno asked of the guard.

His ears pricked upwards, and he gave her an uncomfortable look before returning to his meal.

"You know the silent treatment won't work very well since I can't hear shit anyhow," Kuno stated, chasing a crumb across her plate.

Warden looked up at her again, and pursed his lips. He paused in his eating, and then pushed away from the table, coming around with the notepad in hoof again. He scrawled something across it, and then pushed it under her nose.

**Found you in the field.**

"No, really?" Kuno asked in a sarcastically awed tone.

The pegasus frowned, and then wrote something else down.

**You're a changeling.**

"Your powers of deduction are _astounding_," Kuno said with a shake of her head.

**Couldn't leave you in the field.**

"Well that's understandable," Kuno admitted, tapping a hoof against her chin, and then waving that same hoof at the house. "But then, this isn't a jail. Not a proper one. You're the only one guarding me, and this," she plucked at her collar, "is not standard prison attire. Why are you keeping me a secret from the rest of the guards?"

Warden looked dismayed at that, at how easily the changeling could put two and two together. There was a long pause, and he hesitated over each word as he wrote out a short sentence

**They'll kill you.**

Kuno nodded at that. "Most likely, yes."

**Can't let them.**

"Sure you can," Kuno stated with a wave of a hoof. "It'd be quite easy, in fact."

The thud of the pegasus' hooves against the table made no sound to Kuno, but she _felt_ the impact in her bones. The pegasus scowled at her deeply, his eyes narrowed.

"Are you really that concerned about me?" Kuno asked glumly. "I'm just a changeling. Surely your conscience could abide a single changeling dying?"

Warden frowned deeply at her, and then shook his head, scrawling a single word across the notepad and tossing it at her over his shoulder.

**Cant**

Kuno peered at the single word on the paper, frowning to herself. "So... you're just going to keep me here? Forever? You realise that you're killing me as surely as if you turned me into the other guards?"

The pegasus returned to his seat, and began to finish his meal. He gave her a curt nod, looking unhappy.

"So... let me go!" Kuno said.

An emphatic shake of the pegasus' head was her only answer.

Kuno growled, pushing at the table with her hooves and turning her head, effectively ending their conversation.

It was several long minutes before she felt a tap on her shoulder, and she turned towards him, narrowing her eyes. "Murderer."

The pegasus pursed his lips, and shook the end of her tether in her face, motioning towards her room.

Kuno sighed, and then dropped down off the chair, stalking to her room and splaying herself out on the bed, huffing and closing her eyes.

There was a tugging at her collar, and it was removed completely. Something thudded down onto the bed besides her, and then she felt the concussion of the door to her room closing.

After a few moments, Kuno opened her eyes, to find a new collar sitting besides her on the bed. A cute red collar with a bell on it.

The changeling sighed faintly, scooping the collar closer to herself and batting at the bell in a depressed way. She couldn't hear it jingling.

It took her only a few moments to get the collar on and fasten it into place. There was no padlock on it, but she guessed that Warden would add one the next time she was to be taken out of her room.

Kuno sighed and pulled herself over to the desk, selecting a book and beginning to flick through it, batting at her new bell in a glum way. At least now she had an indicator of how her hearing was returning. _If_ it would ever return.

Not that it would matter if she didn't find a way out of there. In a week—maybe more if she continued to get regular meals—she would be dead.


	3. Plans

Kuno stared glumly into the mirror, batting at her bell, watching the way it rocked back and forth, its negligible weight barely permeable. Still, she couldn't hear it.

A collection of books lay scattered about her, left where she had thrown them when she was done reading them. Some of them she had even read twice. But already, she was bored with that. She had always been a fast reader, and the collection of short stories had barely given her a few hours amusement. It was amazing how slowly time could pass when one had nothing to do.

Kuno had already tried to change her form once, and it had failed. The pain in her injured ears told her that they were nowhere near being fully healed yet, and that was a good sign, she felt. If her ears were still healing, then her hearing may yet return. The world was oddly bleak without noise. It was strange, she could still feel her heartbeat, and her breathing, but they made no sound.

The touch of a hoof at her shoulder made her jump, and she grit her teeth in surprise and dismay. She really needed to stop being snuck up on like that.

Turning, she found Warden standing behind her. For the first time since she had arrived, he wasn't wearing his guard armor. Underneath the armor, he was actually rather handsome, in a very unkempt way. His mane and tail were messy, and he had a rough look that was appealing without being _too_ intimidating. He was an all-over white, and his blue mane was just the right hue to really make him look stunning.

Kuno also noticed very quickly that his cutie mark was a trestle with vines growing up over it. Not the cutie mark one would expect from a Royal Guard. The changeling's mind began to work, pondering on this new piece of information.

Why would a Royal Guard have a cutie mark that pertained to _gardening_ of all things?

Slowly, the pieces clicked together in Kuno's mind.

Warden's unwillingness to harm her, or see her harmed through his own actions; not a trait that the Royal Guard was exactly famous for. His garden: neat, tended, perfect. His stew, apparently home-cooked. That fact that he lived at the base of the mountain and not in the barracks.

And then all the pieces neatly fit together in Kuno's mind.

Warden was part of the reserve guard.

The Reserve Guard was a contingent of the Royal Guard Militia: normal ponies trained in the arts of war to be called to service in times of emergency and martial law. Having changelings running free in the populace definitely counted as an emergency. So, Warden, as part of the reserve guard, had been called to duty. But the pegasus lacked the conviction to follow through with his orders, resulting in Kuno's current predicament. He couldn't let her roam free, but if he gave her up to the royal guard, she would be executed.

Kuno was barely aware of Warden saying something to her, and she snapped back to reality with a blink. A piece of paper was thrust in front of her nose.

**Dinner time**

Making sure that Warden could see, she nodded, and then offered him her throat.

Without a pause, the pegasus clipped the tether onto her collar and then locked it in place. A tug at the collar urged her to follow him, and she fell in behind the pegasus, ears splayed back and a frown on her muzzle. She didn't much like being led around like a mule or some kind of pack animal. It was demeaning.

In the back of her mind, Kuno was pondering her next move. Warden wasn't a _true_ Royal Guard. He was a weekend warrior. A part-time badass. Therefore, he would be more prone to mistakes, even though he hadn't made any glaring mistakes in her captivity so far.

Once more, Kuno's tether was clipped to the iron ring, and then locked into place by a second padlock. Examining the tether itself, she found that it was tightly wound nylon. It would take hours of work to fray a rope like that, not to mention a sharp surface.

The smell of food broke her out of her train of thought, and the changeling turned towards the table, her stomach rumbling. A half a loaf of bread and a bowl of stew was placed in front of her, and she fell to it with a ravenous hunger.

Hot mouthfuls of bread and stew filled Kuno's mouth and belly, but didn't even sate her appetite. It was like drinking a cup of water while hunger gnawed at your stomach. It was _something_, but it made the hunger _hurt_.

**Are you okay?**

Kuno barely registered the words on the notepad in front of her face, and she groggily picked herself up off the floor. She didn't even recall falling to the floor, or passing out, or _any_ of that. Warden was staring down at her, biting his bottom lip.

The changeling blinked heavily, and then tried to push herself to her hooves, wincing. Her body was refusing to listen to her, and she had barely the strength to rise.

A powerful hoof under her form helped her up, and she staggered in place as her balance failed her.

"I'm fine," Kuno muttered, trying to push him away with a hoof, her aim misjudged, sending her crashing to the floor again. This time, she felt it. One of her already-injured wings folded under her and she gave a weak cry of pain, trying to squirm it free and straight again.

Powerful hooves wrapped around her midsection, and she squirmed against them futilely, before just allowing them to do what they would to her. Her head was swimming with hunger pangs that no normal food could sate, and each stab of need was like a knife in her side, being twisted and jerked side-to-side. Even breathing was beginning to hurt.

Kuno couldn't help but wonder if this was what it felt like to die?

The changeling barely registered the fact that she was being carried somewhere. The tether at her neck was unclipped, though her collar remained with the heavy weight of the padlock swinging from it. She was carried through into a room she didn't recognize, and set down gently on a soft, warm bed with felt covers.

Shifting feebly, Kuno tried to lift her head, only to have a hoof press her firmly back down. The hoof touched at her neck and her own hooves, as though searching for a pulse.

"B-base of the ears," Kuno said thickly, automatically. Already, a hazy greyness was seeping into her vision.

The hoof moved to the base of her ears, where the chitin was soft and flexible, allowing her heartbeat to be permeable.

"I'm fine..." Kuno murmured, trying to push herself to her hooves weakly. She would not allow this pony to see her weak. She was _strong_. If she was going to die of hunger, she was going to do it in a _dignified_ fashion.

But somewhere in the back of her mind, Kuno knew that this was only the start. The hunger would get _worse_ from here on out. She had at least a week of agony left to live.

"You are _not_ fine!" a gruff voice said as though from a great distance, as the hoof held her down all the more firmly, placed over her shoulder so she couldn't move.

The jingle of a bell, the muffled sounds of chitin and fur against the felt bedspread. Sounds flooded the changeling's mind. She could hear again! Everything was muted, as though there were a pane of thick glass between her and the noises. But she could _hear_!

Kuno relaxed then, going limp and just laying there, splayed out on her side, wings in disarray, as the pegasus checked her over.

"Goddess! Why'd you have to show up in that bloody field?!" the pegasus growled, pulling back to stare at her, lips pursed and eyes narrowed.

Kuno didn't look at Warden: didn't give him any indication that she had heard his words. Instead, she focused on the rest of the room, peering at her surroundings without appearing to do so. It was a clean room, neat and tidy, with a few furnishings here and there. There was a bookcase on one wall, a cupboard with an old spring-wound alarm clock, a potted flower of the yellow variety, and a single photograph framed in silver. It showed a younger Warden and a yellow earth pony female, the two of them were smiling, and looked happy.

Warden caught her looking, and snapped the photo face-down with a scowl, growling in the back of his throat. "Just... _stay here_," the pony said, waving a hoof in front of her nose to get her attention.

When Kuno looked up at him, he mouthed the words 'stay here' and pantomimed her remaining in place.

Despite the gnawing pain in her stomach, Kuno had to resist the urge to giggle.

The pegasus moved back to the kitchen, leaving her alone. The muffled sounds of him moving were barely audible to her healing ears, but she knew she didn't have long.

Casting her gaze about and wracking her mind for what to do, Kuno used her dwindling strength to push herself to her hooves.

A quick step and a short hop allowed her to grip the dresser and pull it down with her weight.

The cupboard landed across her back as she fell under it, and she cried out in pain, whimpering and trying to crawl free. The alarm clock hit the floor and shattered loudly, sending cogs and springs scattering all over the place. The pot-plant likewise shattered, showering the floor with clods of dirt and bits of broken pottery. One of the drawers half-opened and an assortment of seed packets spilled out, adding to the mess.

Several long, long moments later, the cupboard was hefted off her, and powerful hooves once more lifted her from the floor.

"I'm fine... 'm fine..." Kuno protested weakly, struggling and pushing at the pegasus' chest feebly as best she could.

Once again, the changeling was deposited on the ground, and Warden scowled at her.

Warden left again, and Kuno didn't move this time. By the time he came back from the kitchen with a fresh bowl of stew, trying his best to spoon-feed her, Kuno had already hidden the spring she had purloined. She held it tightly at the base of her wing, where the weight of her wing itself would keep it lodged in place, safe and sound until she needed it.


	4. Fruition

Kuno stared at the dark wall of her room.

Warden had brought her back into the room an hour previously, from what she assumed could only be his bedroom. Kuno had feigned sleep, while delighting in the sensation of her strength slowly returning. The gnawing in her stomach had receded, and was lingering on the knife's edge of pain and agony. It hurt to move, but she was healing. And she was getting stronger.

It would appear that the pegasus was more fond of his captive than he let on.

Kuno had been staring at the wall opposite the magic mirror for the better part of an hour because she was listening with every fibre of her being for the sounds of Warden moving about the house. She had been certain she felt the vibrations of him heading for his bedroom to sleep for the night. But she had to be absolutely _certain_ he wasn't watching at the magic mirror before she made her move.

When she was certain that Warden was in his bedroom, Kuno quietly rolled over onto her hooves and slipped off the bed. With her wings free up, she twisted her hoof to rest underneath her wing, and then stretching the limb out so that the spring fell from underneath and onto her hoof. The changeling wrinkled her nose at the sensation of the spiral shape that had been etched into the membrane there. Her wings were far less fragile than they appeared. Although malleable in the centre, the outer edges were hard enough that some changelings had been known to whittle the forward edges into blades.

With the spring in hand, Kuno began the delicate process of unwinding it. There was a surprising amount of steel in that short coil, and Kuno was glad. She would need all she could get.

After she had the spring unwound, she straightened out the lengths as best she could, and then began to neatly fold it. She wiggled the pieces in place carefully, over and over again, until the wire itself gave in to the constant deforming and snapped in half. Three times she did this, separating the wire into four distinct segments.

The changeling then began to shape the wire, folding each piece in half and then twisting it tightly, using teeth, hoof, and even part of the sink tap to get the spirals nice and neat. Once she had the four pieces in the right shape, she perused them carefully, selecting the two that were the best for what she wanted.

The two pieces that she selected, now rigid and straight, were tucked carefully back under her wing for safekeeping, and the other two pieces were stashed under her mattress in case she was found out.

"One of them to find, one for me to keep," Kuno whispered to herself, half because of smug exposition, and half because she just wanted to hear her own voice.

With her tools in place, the changeling dropped herself back down onto her bed and then began to fiddle with the lock that still weighed heavily on the collar around her neck. That was perhaps Warden's first mistake: giving her time to work at her own lock. He should have taken the lock with him each time he left her alone.

Kuno laid herself out on her side, freeing up her hooves, and then held up the two pieces of twisted wire, inserting them by feel into the padlock and beginning to jiggle them around slowly and carefully. It would take a lot of trial and error to get the correct combination of pressures to unlock the padlock, but she was patient, and she had all night.

By morning, Kuno had managed to unlock the padlock at her neck a total of five separate times. She was becoming quite good at it, and the last try only took her five minutes to set the tumblers right and get it to spring open. The victory had cost her one of her picks though, snapped when she twisted and turned it too hastily.

Unfortunately, that was all the practise she could afford. Celestia's Brilliance was rising in the east, and she had run out of time.

Kuno carefully placed her two picks back in that little nook between her wing and her back, pressing her wing down so that the membranes would deform over them and keep them in place. With that done, she retrieved the broken pick, and the single remaining whole pick, and then rolled over to face the mirror, beginning to work at her lock again.

The changeling was unsure how long she lay like that, fruitlessly wiggling the picks back and forth in a rough approximation of lockpicking. The broken lock pick she had stuffed deep into the lock, where it would be difficult to extract, and she was feigning tugging at it.

The door opened to the room, and Kuno stiffened for the merest of moments, before calming her breathing and trying to still her racing heart. Her neck muscles quivered as she suppressed the urge to turn her head towards the sound, and she feigned continued deafness. Doggedly, her hooves continued to work at the lock, wiggling the picks back and forth as though trying her very, very best to unlock it.

A hoof touched her side, and she _yelped_, spinning around and stuffing her hooves underneath herself, lowering her nose and thinking of the most embarrassing thing she could. The image of Warden walking in on her as she had her hooves stuffed between her hindlegs did it, and a faint tinge of red found her cheeks.

"I-I wasn't doing anything!" Kuno protested weakly, quite obviously wiggling her hooves to push the picks under the mattress. "T-this thing is heavy!"

Warden scowled at her, his eyes narrowing, raising a hoof to point accusingly at the broken pick stuffed in the padlock.

Kuno affected the sulkiest tone she could muster. "I never _was_ any good at picking locks."

Warden snorted once, holding out his hoof wordlessly.

Sighing, Kuno made a great show of slowly, angrily pulling out the inferior pick, and the broken one to place in Warden's hoof, shooting him dirty looks the entire way.

Once that was done, she turned her back on him, huffing.

"Where'd you ge-"

"If you're talking at me, I can't hear you, remember?" Kuno stated smugly, not looking back over her shoulder.

There was a growl of anger from behind her, and Kuno suppressed a giggle as Warden stomped off. The door slammed, and then clicked, locked.

It was a full minute before the pegasus returned, shoving open the door and marching over to her, holding up a notepad.

Kuno merely turned her head away from it. "I'm not reading that."

A push at her shoulder made her turn and glower at him. The notepad was pushed almost up against her nose, long enough for her to read:

**Where did you get them?**

The notepad was drawn back, and Warden arched an eyebrow at her, crossing his hooves angrily.

Kuno snorted once, turning her head. It was several long moments before she spoke, as haughtily as she could. "Remember the clock? You think I knocked it over on _accident_?"

Warden's eyes narrowed at that, and he looked the changeling up and down suspiciously.

"Yeah, you took the damn picks off me, _okay_? You _win_! I'll just... I'll just _die_ here and you won't have to worry about your moral compass and conscience," Kuno spat, playing to the pegasus' demonstrated emotions.

Ears splaying backwards, Warden withdrew a moment, and then his gaze softened.

"I..." he started, and then trailed off, sighing, remembering that she couldn't hear him. His voice was small as he continued. "I didn't want for this to happen... but I can't just let you out to ruin ponies' lives..."

Kuno had to strain to hear it, and she gave no outward indication that she had heard him.

"_And_ you're deaf as a bloody mule!" Warden growled, tossing the notepad against the wall in a flurry of annoyance. "Geeze."

Kuno didn't even move or give any indication that she noticed as the pegasus stormed out, slamming the door behind him. After a minute, she made a show of looking around and acting surprised as she found that he was no longer there.

It wasn't until a little bit later in the day that Warden came for again, tether in hoof, his other making a motion for her to give him her collar.

Kuno gave a long-suffering sigh, and sidled over to him, offering him her throat.

Warden clipped the tether to her collar, and then tugged it firmly, forcing her to follow him. He led her to the kitchen table, clipping the other end of her tether to the iron ring.

Once again, a half a loaf of bread, and a bowl of stew were placed in front of her.

Kuno looked down at the food, and then up at the pegasus. The food didn't look that appetizing to her any more. She was feeding from Warden's faint affection for her, and that was far more filling than stew and bread. But she had to keep up the facade.

Snorting once to herself, Kuno began to slowly, laboriously eat her meal, taking longer and longer with each bite, feigning weakness. In truth, it was the strongest she had felt since she had awoken in the field.

And Warden had made one huge mistake.

When she collapsed the previous day, he had forgotten to force her to take the magic suppressant.

Without the muddling effects of the drug, Kuno's mind was clear. She knew exactly what she had to do.

Warden looked up as a thud resounded throughout the room. Kuno had hit the floor.

Immediately, the pegasus was moving around the table to check on her again, face twisted with worry.

The moment his hooves touched her, Kuno sprang into action.

A quick twist of her hooves and a turn of her body, and she had wrapped the rope over Warden's neck. Swiftly, Kuno rolled, dragging the rope with her, pulling the pegasus over her form and onto his back, with her rolling atop him. His head hit the floor hard, dazing him, and he blinked unseeingly at the ceiling for several seconds.

Kuno took the opportunity to cross the rope over his throat and hold it there, squeezing and tightening.

Warden realised his peril too late, scrabbling at her frantically with his forehooves. Kuno merely held her face away from the flailing limbs, until the pegasus went limp.

The changeling stared down at him, holding the rope. All she had to do was keep squeezing, holding the blood from reaching his brain. He would die in seconds. Or she could even twist and yank the rope and kill him.

But something stopped her. Gently, Kuno released the rope, letting it relax. She checked the pegasus' pulse, made sure he was breathing, and then set about freeing herself. In seven minutes, Kuno was free, unlocking her collar and then staring down at the form of the unconscious pegasus with a sly grin.

Warden returned to consciousness slowly. His head was throbbing, and his wings were uncomfortable. He tried to move them, only to find that they were bound. He struggled slightly, eyes flicking open, and he blinked rapidly, shaking his head. His entire body was bound in rope, and his neck jingled faintly. A red collar with a bell was affixed to his neck. The rope tether was attached to it and padlocked in place.

Kuno gently pushed at Warden's head with her hoof, to get his attention.

"You bitch!" the pegasus spat up at her.

"Language!" Kuno chided, bopping him on the nose with a hoof and idly taking a bite of the loaf of bread she held in her free hoof. "Sorry about the rope, by the way. But you're a big, strapping stallion. Wouldn't want you breaking free, now, would we?"

"You can hear me," Warden stated flatly, glowering up at her.

"How _astute_," Kuno said with a wry grin. "Any other revelations you'd like to share?"

"I'm going to kill you," Warden growled, his tone menacing.

"Now now, hun. If you were going to do that, you had _ample_ opportunity. Let's just skip the foreplay and get right down to the heart of the matter. I'm a changeling. You're a pony. You're _supposed_ to want to kill me, but you really _don't_ want to. In fact, it's because of your affection for me that I can hear again." The changeling took a step closer to the pegasus, and then placed a hoof on his chest, peering down at him intently. "And that intrigues me. So while I have a _captive_ audience, I intend to sate my curiosity."

"Go to hell!" Warden retorted, struggling against his bonds again.

Kuno sighed once, shaking her head. "This really will go easier if you cooperate. You spared me... and if you tell me what I want to know, I might even spare you."

"Go. To. Hell." Warden bit off, trying his best to push at her hoof with his chest.

"Oh come now, this is going to get tiresome _very_ quickly." Kuno tilted her head down at the pony, and then pursed her lips. "I didn't want to do this, but you leave me little choice."

Kuno aimed her horn at the pegasus, and let her magic flow out, a green beam of light hitting him square between the eyes. He convulsed, crying out once, and then went still and quiet.

The changeling peered at the pegasus, grinning and leaning in closer, trailing a hoof along his cheek. His eyes were green and vacant, under her spell. And even though she felt her energy reserves teetering on painfully empty again, Kuno smiled.

"Let's find out what makes you tick," she whispered.


	5. Empathy

Kuno peered into Warden's eyes, waving a hoof in front of his face. His pupils didn't even shrink as the shadow of her hoof passed over them. He was completely under her control.

"Now, Warden. Tell me: why did you lock me up in the cell?" Kuno leaned forwards with a grin, batting at the bell on the collar around his neck.

"I needed to keep you contained. Keep you from hurting anypony," Warden replied automatically, emotionlessly.

"And why didn't you just kill me?" Kuno queried, raising a brow.

The pegasus paused then, as though thinking. "I... tried. When you were unconscious the first time. I just couldn't. I'm not strong enough."

"Physically or mentally?" Kuno asked, rather urgently checking herself over for any stab wounds she might have missed.

"Mentally," Warden responded quietly. "I couldn't do it."

"And you couldn't give me over to the guard because I would be executed, yes?"

"Correct."

Kuno hummed thoughtfully, rubbing a hoof against her chin. Ambling off for a few moments, she returned with the framed photo from Warden's room, holding it in front of the pegasus. "And who is this?"

"That was Swarm," Warden said unhelpfully.

"And who was she?" Kuno reiterated.

"She was Swarm. Swarm was a pony." Warden stared straight ahead, his eyes vacant.

Kuno growled softly in the back of her throat. Warden was fighting her magic, and she didn't have the strength to redo a spell of that magnitude.

"Stop. Resisting." The changeling pushed a hoof against the guard, annoyed. "Who was Swarm? What did she _do_, why was she important to you?"

"Swarm was a beekeeper... she made special honey sculptures. She was my wife." Warden shook his head, struggling slightly against his bonds.

"Relax, Warden. You're safe. You're among friends," Kuno soothed, gently touching her horn to his forehead again, allowing another trickle of her magic to muddle his mind.

The pegasus ceased his struggles, staring blankly ahead again.

Kuno shook her head, blinking several times to get rid of the fog greying her mind.

"You keep referring to her in the past tense... did she leave you?" Kuno queried, staring into his eyes.

Warden shook his head slowly. "She died."

"Why did she die?"

"Because I'm weak. Because I failed her." Warden spoke matter-of-factly, blunt.

"Explain it to me." Kuno trailed a hoof soothingly through the pegasus' mane again, humming reassuringly to keep him in a cooperative frame of mind.

"She was sick. Cancer. She needed me to get her medicine. I failed her. She died."

Kuno gave a low growl, pushing at the pegasus. "_Elaborate_, or I'm going to zap you again."

Warden shook his head blinking once and struggling faintly.

"Swarm was always there for me... Since we were foals. My parents raised me in Canterlot, and she was one of the cool foals. She was their cliques. I was ostracized because I was a pegasus and I wasn't good at anything.

"She was always nice to me. Treated me like any other pony. The others treated me a lot worse. Picked on me. I was the only pegasus in the class. Even after we grew up, and went our separate ways, she was the only one from school who stayed in contact with me. I joined the guard, she perfected her honey sculptures. But she knew I wasn't meant for the guard. She introduced me to growing plants. Helped me get my cutie mark.

"She made all the moves. Asked me on a date. Told me what to do to make her happy. And she was the one who proposed. We were married for barely a year when she got sick. We lived so far out of town that she refused to see the doctor. Wasn't comfortable with them. I eventually forced her to see the doctor, and she was diagnosed with lung cancer. There was medicine that could be made, that could help her... but the grove where it was kept had been taken over by a pair of nesting manticore. They were violently territorial and protective of their young. And the herbs weren't needed often enough for a detachment of royal guards to kill the manticores.

"Swarm was getting sicker... and sicker. I went after the herbs. But I was _weak_. It took me two days to muster up the courage to enter the grove, and even then, I narrowly escaped with my life. I guess I was lucky, because by the time I got back to the hospital, Swarm was already dead. I failed her, and she died."

Kuno splayed her ears back as she listened to the pegasus' story, frowning deeply.

"_Elaborated_ enough for you?" the pegasus spat, glowering up at her.

Kuno blinked once, realising that her spell had failed.

"Just like I failed to keep you contained. Should have just turned you over to the guard and let you be executed. You're just lucky you met with the weakest royal guard ever," Warden growled, turning away from her, and then shook his head to try and clear it of the residual magic.

The changeling frowned at that, shaking her head, and then pulling the pegasus around to face her again, a hoof resting on his cheek, stopping him from turning away. "Empathy and sympathy are not traits to be ashamed of..."

"And yet _you_, who have _neither_, trumped me with ease," Warden spat, gritting his teeth and pushing her hoof forcefully away so he could turn his head away from her. "Just... get it over with."

"There is a lot about changelings that you do not know," Kuno murmured, ears splaying back.

"I know enough," the pegasus stated, "You steal love. You harm ponies. You didn't _deserve_ my sympathy. And you're going to prove it when you kill me."

"You are surprisingly uncaring of your own demise," Kuno pointed out, to change the subject.

"What do I have to live for?" Warden growled, turning back to face her again, his eyes narrowing. "Everything in my life was given to me by Swarm. Ever since I was in school. She's gone now, because I failed. I just grow my garden and do drills with the Reserve Guard to pay my bills. I _have_ no life. And the one thing I tried to do, the one stupid fantasy I had of fixing _you_ or making you _civilized_ or whatever the _hell_ I was thinking, failed utterly too! So if you're not going to kill me, just _leave_!"

Kuno's ears pinned back at the pegasus' tirade, and she shrunk slightly, frowning. "You... wanted to civilize me?"

"I wanted to prove that just because you were _born_ as a monster doesn't mean you have to _stay_ one. That, and I'm too weak to let you die at my hooves, even indirectly." Warden snorted once, turning his head away from her again, his expression contemptuous.

"But... I'm not a monster," Kuno protested quietly. "I'm just... a changeling."

"A monster," Warden spat in response, growling and gritting his teeth. "You steal love. Couldn't you just earn it?"

"_Earn_ it?" Kuno asked with an incredulous laugh. "Even the Royal Guard's _weakest_ member thinks we're a race of monsters who are _born_ evil."

Warden growled at that, refusing to respond.

"And even when you couldn't bring yourself to _kill_ me, you still imprisoned me and sentenced me to a slow death," Kuno stated with a contemptuous snort. "_You_ are the monster."

"What even happened to that, huh?" Warden asked, turning back to face her, struggling against his bonds. "What happened to you _dying_?"

"I guess you like me more than you're letting on," Kuno responded challengingly.

"I've always been bloody _terrible_ at character judgements," Warden accused with a snarl.

"So this is what we've degenerated to, huh?" Kuno asked, snorting once. "Exchanging barbed retorts?"

"I thought you were going to kill me!" Warden snarled, wiggling and squirming furiously to try and break free.

"I... I never intended to kill you. Well, maybe I entertained the idea of it while I was strangling you. An intrusive thought," the changeling said dismissively.

Warden snorted once, braying in his anger. "Then _leave_!"

"No," Kuno stated, shaking her head slowly. "I... I've already decided what I'm going to do."

The pegasus stared up at her contemptuously, his eyes narrowing.

Kuno reached down, hoof moving towards his throat.

Warden turned his head, gritting his teeth and tensing his form.

The collar jingled as Kuno removed it: unlocking the padlock at the front and then undoing the collar itself, tugging it free and dropping it to the side. The ropes then basically fell free from the pegasus' form.

Warden rose to his hooves, towering over the smaller changeling, and for a brief moment, Kuno was sure she'd made a mistake. But she was brave, and rose to her full height regardless, staring up at the pegasus. "I will prove to you that we are not monsters."

"What does it even matter? Who even _cares_? What's to even stop me from just killing you?" Warden growled.

Kuno gave a wry smile at that, eyes narrowing at the pegasus. "It matters to me. You don't have to understand it. You just have to accept it. And as for what's stopping you from killing me..." Kuno trailed off at that, before grinning and turning away, scooping up the collar and unlooping the padlock from it, tossing it to him.

Warden caught the padlock automatically, blinking down at it.

Kuno smiled smugly, "You've already proven to me that you lack the balls to go through with it."


	6. Gift

Warden sat in awkward silence, watching the changeling at the other end of the table.

Kuno was quite happily eating her half of a loaf of bread, picking the best bits out of the stew and downing them with the stew as well. She seemed completely oblivious to exactly how _uncomfortable_ Warden was.

The pegasus had retreated to his room for a few minutes, and then returned with his spear and armor equipped, sitting warily at one end of the table. Kuno had taken her usual spot, sans the tether and collar, and without the restraints, seemed at least eight times more dangerous and intimidating than before.

"So... aren't you going to ask me stuff?" Kuno asked, raising an eyebrow at the pegasus with a sly grin.

Warden tightened his grip on the spear, even though he knew, deep down, that if it came to actually using it, he wouldn't be able to. "Why would I do that?"

"Well, I know your history now. You know nothing of mine. You were apparently going to try and make me a goody-two-shoes. So let's just forget, for a moment, that I need to feed on love. We'll just skim over the impossibility of you finding a way to provide free love, and we'll move onto you turning me nice. Obviously, the starting point would be to get a groundwork for my personality, yes?" Kuno tilted her head slightly to the side, chewing another piece of bread.

Warden frowned at that, glowering at her from under his helmet. "I... I guess."

"Well?" Kuno asked, brows raising. "Don't be shy, now."

"...How many ponies have you killed?" Warden asked bluntly, pursing his lips.

Kuno giggled softly at that. "Right to the hard questions, huh?"

"Yeah, like you were going to answer anyway," Warden said dismissively, snorting and turning his head.

"Three," Kuno stated dismissively.

Warden made a soft choking sound.

"What? Too many?" Kuno asked casually, an ear perking at the pegasus.

"Y-you've killed ponies..." Warden said weakly.

"Yup, three of em," Kuno reiterated. "And? You asked the question."

"W-who were they?" Warden whispered weakly.

"Well, the first one was an accident. Definitely my fault though. I was trying to get into a hospital to imitate a cancer patient and garner a little extra love, back in my homeland... but while I was masquerading as a nurse, I was required to treat a patient. I prescribed diazepam for a weak heart disorder. Apparently, that's not such a good mix. The pony died.

"Number two was also an accident. I'd knocked out a dominatrix pony so I could take her place and leech love from her 'suitors', as it were. When the pony dropped the ball, I didn't know that this was the sign for me to release him from his asphyxiation restraints. By the time I realised that his pleas for me to stop were, well, _genuine_ and not his submissive rape fantasy, he went unconscious. I tried to revive him, but he never started breathing again."

Warden stared at the changeling, mouth open, shocked and dismayed.

"What?" Kuno said defensively, her ears splaying back. "I tried to revive him!"

"A-and the third?" Warden murmured, half-afraid of the answer.

Kuno's gaze hardened. "A high-class unicorn I came into contact with. It was a month before I figured out he was a major player in the slavery game. His cronies would go around to different orphanages, adopt the children, and then sell them off for literally _anything_."

Warden stared at her, aghast. "R-right here in Equestria?"

Kuno shook her head. "Nope, back home. Across the ocean. I was forced to leave the country because the unicorn's cronies figured out I was a changeling. I suppose, I _was_ found covered in blood, in my true form, with a salad fork shoved through his eye socket. But I digress."

The pegasus could only continue to stare, speechless.

After several long moments, Warden found his voice again. "W-what did you kill him for?"

Kuno gave a giggle at that, shaking her head. "I killed him because he was an absolute _lousy_ lay."

Warden could only continue to stare. "...Really?"

"No." Kuno shook her head with a snicker, before sobering. "I killed him because he was trafficking orphan foals to some really, really horrible ponies."

"But..." Warden frowned deeply.

"But what? You think it's impossible for me to feel empathy for ponies?" Kuno accused, frowning in response.

Warden shook his head. "Just... you make yourself out to be heartless, and then you go and kill somepony because he was trafficking young ponies..."

"No, I didn't make myself out to be heartless," Kuno stated, pointing at the pegasus with a piece of bread. "You just _assume_ that I am heartless."

"You threatened to kill me, _casually_. That is heartless!" Warden responded with a huff.

"The easiest way to garner information in an interrogation is to either cause grievous bodily harm and threaten more... or make the future of the interrogation subject questionable. If you know you're going to die anyway, then why bother telling me anything? Whereas if you know that I won't kill you, the knowledge will fortify you," Kuno explained calmly, matter-of-factly.

"I... I really have nothing to say to that," Warden responded with a slow shake of his head, eyes wide.

"Torture 101," Kuno said with a cheery smile.

"What the fuck _are_ you?" Warden asked after a moment, his tone exasperated.

"I'm a changeling," Kuno replied, puffing out her chest with a grin. "Isn't it awesome?"

Kuno sat outside, for the first time in days, basking in the sunlight and just enjoying the fresh air. The sun was setting in the west, slowly dipping below the horizon.

Warden was in the garden, where he had been since before Kuno had come outside. His spear was on the ground beside him, just out of reach, but close enough for him to grab it should the changeling suddenly launch herself at him.

The changeling's happy reverie was mildly disturbed by the nigh constant ache in her wings. she still hadn't finish healing yet, and even though Warden's affection for her was _helping_ in some small way, it would be days before she felt one hundred percent.

Idly, Kuno watched the pegasus working. He was using his hooves to arrange and delicately place creeping vines in place, so that they grew evenly up over a trestle. He had non-edible vines, tomato vines, pumpkins, melons, any kind of vine Kuno could think of, and some she didn't even recognize. He even used his _wings_ to help arrange them, allowing him to work at an astounding pace.

"Why don't you eat any of the stuff you grow?" Kuno queried, curious.

"None of it's ripe yet," Warden pointed out with a slight frown. "I mean, you can eat the unripened stuff if you want. You'll only be sick for a little while... Why do you even _eat_? Do you _need_ to eat?"

"Eating is... well, it's uhm. I have no idea how to explain it to a non-changeling..." Kuno admitted, frowning down at her hooves. "Love feeds us. Food can _sustain_ us for a little while. But it's never actually enough. For our first years, food is all we require. But once we get a taste for love, food stops... working. It stops being sufficient. But it can supplement a love diet. We can certainly go without, but it's... bland. I guess?"

"And if a changeling never feeds on love?" Warden asked, looking up from his gardening.

Kuno blinked once. "Impossible. They'd have to have no contact with any pony ever, nor their parents... other changelings..."

"Would a changeling taking love from another changeling be like... cannibalism?" the pegasus asked curiously.

"Well, not _really_. It is an equal exchange though. Give another changeling a week of love, and lose a week of love in response. But that's non-consensual. So... loving-rape?" Kuno suggested with a giggle.

"Loving rape," Warden repeated blankly, before slowly shaking his head. "Changelings are weird."

"_Ponies_ are weird!" Kuno retorted, snorting once. "If it wasn't for the fact that I needed you ponies to survive, I'd have gone and moved off to a nice quiet mountain somewhere already."

"What's it like?" Warden asked suddenly, looking up at her again. "Feeding on love? What's it _feel_ like?"

Kuno pondered on that, shrugging and scraping one of her large front teeth over the chitin of her hoof to try and remove a scuff mark. "It's... hard to explain. Sort of warm. And fuzzy. Kinda tingly. Feels a little bit like a liquid... and a little bit like a gas. Sort of like... that condensation on the side of a pot when you're boiling water in it. It sort of just coalesces inside you and then spreads across your insides like a warm pool of molten... well, warmth."

"That sounds... explicit," Warden stated with a slow shake of his head.

"Oh grow up!" Kuno snapped, picking up a stick and tossing it at him.

Warden gave an amused snort, grinning at the changeling, and then seemed to catch himself, pausing and blinking, sobering. His ears lowered, and he turned back to his gardening with renewed vigor, biting his bottom lip, looking disgruntled.

"Was it something I said?" Kuno asked, unperturbed.

"I just... It's nothing," Warden responded flatly, digging vigorously with a spade to make a new hole for a vine to be planted in.

Kuno giggled softly at that, shaking her head. "Surprised that I made you smile, huh?"

Warden paused in his digging, going quiet. It was several long moments before he nodded jerkily and then went back to digging.

Kuno hummed happily to herself as she scrubbed her chitin with a sponge, getting it nice, shiny, and liquid black.

"What's it... feel like?" Warden asked from the door, staring at her. "Your... scales. Or hide. Or whatever it is?"

"My carapace?" Kuno asked, peering up at him, a trail of bubbles stuck under her chin. "It's made of chitin. Like a bugs. But it's softer and more malleable. Feels kinda like... linoleum. You know, before it's pressed to the ground and stepped all over _forever_."

"Linoleum..." Warden repeated blankly. "Odd."

"You didn't get a feel when you were carrying me back and forth?" Kuno asked, raising a brow slowly.

"I... tried my very hardest not to touch you," Warden admitted, looking away.

A soft hum left the changeling. "Out of respect or disgust?"

"I guess a bit of both," Warden replied with brutal honesty.

Kuno nodded reasonably. "Understandable, I guess. C'mere. Feel for yourself." The changeling extended a hoof towards the pegasus.

Warden blinked once, his ears pinning back. He shifted his weight awkwardly from hoof-to-hoof, before his curiosity got the better of him. He took a step closer to her, and then tentatively lifted a hoof towards her own.

"I don't bite," Kuno chided, shaking her head. "I mean, unless you're _into_ that. Then I can make an exception."

The pegasus jerked his hoof back at that, glancing at the very toothy smile Kuno was giving him. With a soft shudder of indecision, he quickly reached forwards and touched her hoof, poking it once and then withdrawing.

"Oh, I should have told you that you'll get infected now, all changelings have little hooked barbs on their chitin that carries all sorts of nasty things," Kuno said matter-of-factly.

Warden blanched, his eyes widening as he began to scrub his hoof vigorously against the wall

Kuno dissolved into giggles, falling back into the tub with a splash.

The pegasus realised that she had been messing with him, and ceased rubbing his hoof, shaking his head and glowering at her.

"Why did you throw this out?!" Kuno asked, her tone annoyed and confused. A slight jingle heralded her approach, and Warden looked up from his bed, and the half-dismantled alarm clock that Kuno had smashed.

Kuno was holding the collar and bell in an outstretched hoof, scowling.

"...I didn't think you'd appreciate having it lying around," Warden admitted, his ears lowering.

"Don't just... don't just _throw it out_!" Kuno scolded, waving the collar at him for emphasis. "It's _mine_!"

Warden blinked once, and then shook his head. "Fine. I won't throw it out... what are you, a compulsive hoarder?"

Kuno frowned, holding the collar to her chest and shaking her head. "No... it's just... I have my reasons!"

The pegasus raised an eyebrow at the changeling again, seeming to pick up on the fact that it was a point upon which she was uncomfortable. "And those reasons are?" he pressed.

Kuno huffed once, looking down at her hooves and frowning deeply. "It's just the first... well... it's the first thing anyone ever got me."

"The first gift you ever got?" Warden asked incredulously, shaking his head in disbelief.

"I've gotten plenty of gifts!" Kuno retorted, huffing once. "Just... none of them were for me... for _Kuno_. They were always for the ponies who I was impersonating."

"That... is really sad," Warden admitted, frowning deeply, before shaking his head. "I'd hug you, but I'm afraid you'd try to eat my tongue or something while I was doing it."

"Eyeball," Kuno corrected with a bright smile. "Much tastier."

"Well that's an image that won't stay with me forever," Warden stated, turning back to the destroyed alarm clock and trying to fix it again.

The next time Warden saw Kuno was just as he was getting ready to sleep. The changeling crept into his room as quiet as a whisper, and pulled up the edge of his blanket, nosing underneath it and then worming her way up beside him, snuggling up against his back.

The pegasus stiffened on reflex, eyes going wide. "W-what are you doing?"

"I'm sleeping on your bed," Kuno stated matter-of-factly.

Warden blinked once shock and disbelief. "What."

"You think I'm cute," Kuno pointed out with a weary yawn, nosing in against his wings curiously. "And snuggling up to you to sleep is quite a cute thing to do, yes? It reinforces your affection for me, I get more love from you, and you get a cute changeling snuggled up to your back. Everypony wins, yes?"

Warden pursed his lips but didn't offer any argument, his form still stiff.

"Relax, you stubborn mule, or I'll give you a wing massage with my freaky, hole-filled hooves," Kuno threatened, nipping the leading edge of one.

Warden stiffened further at the nip, before he forced himself to relax.

It was a long time after Kuno had drifted off to sleep that the pegasus found unconsciousness as well.


	7. Friends

"Your wings are so soft," Kuno murmured as she snuggled up to Warden's back, rubbing her face against his feathers.

Warden's eyes fluttered open, and he made an indistinct sound as he stirred, coming back to consciousness.

Kuno hummed quite happily, rubbing her cheek against the upper half of one of the pegasus' wings. "I've never felt them without fur in the way, even when they were attached to me."

"Why are you molesting my wings?" Warden asked groggily.

"Soft," Kuno repeated with a giggle. "I woke up and they were right there in my face. What was I supposed to do?"

A single grunt answered her, and she snorted once in response, nudging the pegasus between the wings with her nose. "Not a morning pony?"

Warden shifted slightly, and then rubbed a hoof against his face slowly. "I love mornings," the pegasus mumbled. "I just wish they'd arrive later in my day."

"Oh wow, last time I heard that, I laughed so hard I fell off my ziggurat," Kuno said with a slow shake of her head.

"It's _morning_," Warden protested, rolling over to face her. His nose bumped against her own, and he flushed slightly, drawing back to hoof's length, blinking at her. "Go back to sleep."

"But I'm not tired any more," Kuno stated, tilting her head slightly and raising a brow at him. The changeling lifted a hoof, rubbing at the base of her ears for a moment. "My hearings back to full strength, too. Sounded like a radio that was out of tune."

"How old are you?" Warden asked suddenly. "You're not like... a thousand years old are you?"

"Ugh, a thousand years is so overused. Luna banished for a thousand years. Crystal empire gone for a thousand years. Discord in stone for a thousand years. Why are you ponies so obsessed with arbitrary numbers?" Kuno accused, pushing a hoof against his chest.

"It's just a ballpark number!" Warden protested, huffing.

"Well no, I'm not a _thousand_ years old. I'm about twenty... if I remember correctly. Haven't exactly had my birthday written down on the calendar. Come to think of it, I don't even remember when my birthday is," Kuno said with a faint, thoughtful hum, rubbing at her chin with a hoof.

"You've never had a birthday party?" Warden asked with a single blink.

Kuno snorted once. "I've had plenty of birthday parties. Just none of them were for _me_."

Warden gave a slight nod at that, looking thoughtful. "For you... for _Kuno_ huh?"

Kuno blinked at that, her ears pinning back. "Errr... yeah," she said, obviously off-put by his knowing her name.

"You let your name slip when we were talking yesterday," Warden said, smiling smugly.

"Ahhhh, my ever-moving tongue," Kuno said with a slow shake of her head, giving a soft sigh.

"So... what are you gonna do now that you're not, you know, tied up?" Warden queried.

"Exact revenge upon you in petty, inconsequential ways designed to send you slowly insane," Kuno said matter-of-factly, yawning and stretching.

Warden stared at the changeling for a long moment. "I'm not sure if you're just messing with my head or being completely honest."

"That's kinda the point," Kuno retorted with a shake of her head, pushing at his chest with her hooves again.

"I need to go into town today," Warden said with a yawn in response.

"What, why?" Kuno asked suddenly.

"For things," Warden said, frowning and nudging her with a hoof. "Afraid of being left alone?"

"I am not!" Kuno said with a soft growl. "I'm just rather worried about you returning with a legion of Royal Guard in tow!"

Warden snorted and rolled his eyes. "And what're you gonna do, tie me up if I go to leave?"

"It's not like you could stop me!" Kuno threatened. "And I could make you love me if I tied you up, oh _yes_."

Warden's eyes widened at that, and he wiggled away a little bit further. "I'm not sure I like the sounds of that."

"The sound of it will the last thing you'll be thinking about," Kuno stated, licking her lips innocently.

"What are you doing?" Warden asked, keeping his hooves between himself and the changeling, in case he needed to fend her off.

"Making you love me," Kuno said matter-of-factly.

Warden blinked once, his ears pinning back. "Well stop... it's creepy."

"But this is how I survive," Kuno stated, shrugging once and wiggling closer to him. "By being cute, seductive, and naughty. That's what stallions like."

Warden snorted, pushing his hoof against her chest to stop her. "Not this stallion."

"I think you actually believe yourself," Kuno said with a soft giggle and a shake of her head. "Poor, confused pegasus.

"Cut it out," Warden stated flatly, pursing his lips.

"But then we'd be sitting at opposite ends of the room facing away from eachother," Kuno said with a shake of her head.

"I'd be fine with that," Warden said reasonably.

"Just because you could stare at my rump!" Kuno accused, thumping his shoulder with a hoof.

"Why are you so insistent on sexual attraction?" Warden spluttered, staring at her accusingly.

"Because love and lust are so closely linked that to travel one route is to travel the other," Kuno said with a minor shrug. "Plus, it makes you uncomfortable and all bashful. It's cute."

Warden sighed and shook his head slowly.

"Oh come on, you like it when I call you cute," Kuno chided with a sly smile.

"I... I guess I do," Warden said, looking away and biting his bottom lip.

"Something wrong?" Kuno asked, leaning closer to him, frowning.

"I... Just..." Warden trailed off, frowning deeply. "It's just so easy to... I dunno. Talk to you. It's not awkward or anything."

Kuno opened her mouth to say something, but he placed a hoof over her mouth, shushing her. "I mean, when you're _not_ deliberately making me uncomfortable, it's not uncomfortable. And that bothers me. You're a changeling. I should just... it shouldn't be this _easy_ to be around you."

Kuno pushed his hoof away and then scoffed. "So you're bothered that I'm easy to be around, huh?"

"Yes!" Warden stated, glowering at her.

It was several long moments before Kuno realised what was going on.

"You think I've put you under a spell..." Kuno murmured quietly.

"The thought had crossed my mind," Warden stated flatly.

Kuno looked away, frowning deeply. "I don't have you under any spell..."

"And how am I supposed to know that?" Warden asked, staring at her challengingly. "You _are_ a changeling!"

"The fact that you can even suspect that you're under a spell is proof that you're _not_ under one," Kuno pointed out with a slow shake of her head.

"I just..."

"You just can't fathom that something as disgusting as a changeling could be _easy_ to get along with," Kuno interrupted, snorting and rolling herself off the bed, turning her back on him.

Warden frowned at that, his ears pinning back. "That's not what I was going to say."

"It's what you were _thinking_!" Kuno snarled, stamping a hoof on the ground angrily. "Do you have _any_ idea what it's like? To constantly be _somepony else_? One week, I'm a pegasus. The next week, I'm a unicorn. The next week, a griffon. I go from being a nurse, to a carpenter, to a baker! Sometimes, I don't even stay _female_! Some days, I can even _forget_ who I am really am. I get lost in all these masquerades! And the one pony I ever met who's ever seen me for who I _really_ am, is disgusted that I can even be _talked_ to on a normal basis, like I'm some kind of _monster_."

Warden looked away, fidgeting with the blanket. "I... You are a monster."

Kuno growled and ground her hoof into the floor, scarring the wood. "Not. Helping."

The bed creaked as Warden shifted on it, and then there was a touch at her shoulder.

"Don't you _dare_ fucking touch me!" Kuno screeched, moving as to turn and whack him across the face with her hoof.

Warden caught her in a hug, pulling her against his chest tightly and turning his head to the side, squinting his eyes shut and wincing. "Please don't bite me!"

Kuno growled deep in her chest, pushing at his chest with her hooves with a huff. "What in the name of all hell are you doing?"

"I'm hugging you," Warden explained, squeezing her, still with his head stretched out to avoid any kind of retaliation. "You sounded like you needed a hug."

"Hugging is for _friends_," Kuno stated, her tone sullen, sulky.

"That is correct," Warden said with a gentle nod, slowly relaxing as no blows or bites were forthcoming.

"You're not my friend," Kuno growled, trying to squirm free. "I don't _have_ any friends."

"I can _be_ your friend, if you let me," Warden soothed, tentatively lifting a hoof to begin stroking reassuringly down the changeling's back.

Kuno growled fiercely, gripping around his middle with her hooves and pushing her face into his shoulder. "But if my friends annoy me, I eat their hearts."

"I-I guess we could be a-acquaintances," Warden stammered, giving a little bit of a squeak as she squeezed him tighter.

"Too late, bucko. You already offered. I accept." Kuno snorted, pushing her face into his shoulder and scowling.

Warden allowed the changeling to squeeze him, before peeking down at her curiously, asking nervously, "A-are you crying?"

"I am not!" Kuno snarled, thumping his back with a hoof but not lifting her head. "Now shut up or I'm going to bite you!"

The pegasus went quiet then, nodding once and just resting his chin on the back of the changelings head, letting her hug him.


	8. Secrets

Kuno sighed happily and stretched out in the warm water of the tub, enjoying the way the bubbles tickled against her chitin as the popped. Even as a fully-grown, adult, serious, capable-of-murder changeling, she still loved her bubble baths with a childish intensity.

"I'm going into town now," Warden said as he walked past the bathroom door. The pegasus did a double take, leaning back around the doorway to peer in at the changeling.

Kuno turned to look up at him, a smattering of bubbles across her face and chin. She had a full beard and mane comprised entirely of bubbles, looking like an old pony gone grey. "What?" Kuno asked with a single blink.

"Nothing," Warden said, turning away and then continuing towards the front door, adjusting the strap of his carry bag.

Kuno hummed to herself as she rubbed at her chitin with the sponge. She had always enjoyed baths of any kind, and especially loved showers. There was something therapeutic about getting her chitin nice and clean, not to mention that it wasn't exactly often that she got to bathe in her natural form.

Her lazing however, was interrupted by a curt knock at the door.

Kuno stiffened, her eyes widening. Her first thought was to answer the door, and then she remembered that she was in full changeling form, and that Warden lived _alone_. It couldn't be Warden at the door, he had left only recently, and he certainly wouldn't knock on the door before entering his own house.

Frowning deeply, Kuno carefully slipped out of the tub, dripping all over the bathroom floor, and then in the hallway as well. The knocking at the door came again. She morphed the end of her hooves as she walked, to something resembling paws, allowing her to pad down the hallway soundlessly. Once in Warden's room, she quietly closed the door behind herself, and then eyed his walk-in cupboard.

The front door exploded inwards, banging against the wall as a shower of wood splinters scattered into the hallway from the ruined latching mechanism.

The three ponies, dressed in leather armor and carrying short, wicked-looking daggers in their hooves, walked calmly in through the ruined front door.

"Spread out. Check the cupboards. He'd likely not keep it all in a visible place," the pegasus who appeared to be the leader said. The two burly earth ponies behind him nodded and then began to search the rooms, beginning with the bathroom and the lounge room.

"Oi, boss! What if there's somepony home?" one of the earth ponies called.

"Aint no one here. We knocked on the door, no answer," The pegasus said with a flippant shrug, heading for the kitchen and beginning to open cupboards. He didn't bother closing them: a ransacking.

Eventually, all that was left was Warden's room. The door was opened, and the three ponies stepped inside. While one of the earth ponies pushed Warden's mattress off the bed, checking underneath it, the other stepped over to the walk-in wardrobe, throwing the doors open.

Kuno-Warden leapt out of the cupboard, brandishing his spear in a wide arc and crying out. "What're you doing in my home?!"

Kuno hefted the spear as expertly as she could, trying not to look as though she was new to it. In truth, she had taken lessons, and was quite proficient in it _and_ in hoof-to-hoof combat. But she didn't want to go taking on three armed opponents by herself. Warden's form was larger than her own, and her—his new wings were heavy and felt awkward. It had been a while since Kuno had taken the form of a pegasus.

The pegasus laughed faintly, looking Kuno up and down. She had Warden's form, his armor, and his spear. And he wasn't even bothered.

"Ahhh, if it isn't our favorite failure of a guard. Where's the produce, Warden? If you give it up without a fight, we might not even put you in the hospital," the pegasus said, his tone silky.

"I'd much prefer if you just left," Kuno said, her mind working furiously.

Product? They wanted Warden's _plants_?

"Where is it, Warden?" the pegasus asked flatly, while the two earth ponies stepped up on either side of him, drawing their daggers.

Kuno took a step back, holding her spear out in front of her carefully, keeping the tip between her and the ponies. "I-it's uhm... in the spare room, behind the mirror."

The pegasus nodded, and then jerked his head towards the door. One of the earth ponies nodded and then slipped out.

It was several long, uncomfortable moments spent in silent glaring before the pony came back. "Uh boss... not quite sure how to get past it."

"Smash it," the pegasus ordered calmly.

"Tried that, it's solid," the pony said curtly.

The boss pegasus growled and then turned on his hooves. "You, come with me," he said commandingly, motioning towards the transformed changeling.

Kuno warily followed after him, keeping the spear between herself and the other three

"Open the mirror," the pegasus said curtly, standing in the doorway of the room. The two earth ponies had moved in to stand beside the mirror, waiting for her.

Kuno looked between them all, and then shook her head. "Actually,"

She never finished her sentence. With a quick twist of her body, she brought the end of the spear down on the back of the pegasus' head, sending him crashing to the floor, stunned. Before the two earth ponies could reach the door, Kuno had kicked the pegasus inside and then slammed the door closed, throwing the deadbolt.

The sound of bashing at the door greeted Kuno's ears, and she removed the helmet, letting her form drop back to normal as she peered at the locked door, ignoring the pounding from the other side.

Warden had a lot to explain when he got back.

Warden sighed as he pushed open his door, groaning faintly at the weight of his backpack and dropping it off his back, pushing it through the door. He didn't even notice the broken latch.

The sight of Kuno standing in the hallway met him, the changeling wearing his armor, sans the helmet, and holding a spear.

Warden blinked slowly, taking a step backwards. "Uhhh..."

"You had visitors," Kuno stated simply, motioning towards the door to the room that had been her prison.

The pegasus blinked once, looking confused and concerned. "Visitors? And you locked them up?!"

"They kinda broke in," Kuno said, pointing at the door with a hoof. "Ransacked the place, looking for _product_. What aren't you telling me, Warden?"

Warden's ears pinned back at that, and his head lowered, mumbling, "It's nothing..."

"Ponies don't break into your home for _nothing_," Kuno stated with a slow shake of her head. "What is it?"

"I..." Warden trailed off, biting his bottom lip, hanging his head in shame. "I grow Aurora for them..."

Kuno blinked once. "Aurora? Sunflower?" she asked, slowly shaking her head.

Aurora was a notoriously hard to grow creeping flower that was well known for its hallucinogenic effects. It was mainly used a recreational drug, and because of the difficulty in growing it, it was _expensive_.

"You're a drug dealer," Kuno stated flatly.

Warden looked up sharply, his tone turning sullen. "That implies that I get _paid_ for it."

"You grow it for _free_?" Kuno asked in disbelief. "Selling drugs is pretty stupid, but giving them away is dangerous levels of moronic."

The pegasus looked away, and then gave a defeated sigh. "I don't want to grow it... they force me to. They... they put me in hospital last time I told them no... and the last time I didn't tend the plant and it withered..."

"And then they come breaking your door down when they want their stuff?" Kuno asked flatly.

"Well... no. They usually send someone around to beat me up a bit and 'remind' me of my 'obligations'," Warden admitted with a slow shake of his head.

Head lowered in shame, the pegasus pushed past the changeling, moving towards the kitchen. He opened a cupboard there, and then stared into it.

Kuno moved after him, peeking over his shoulder. She blinked once, realising that the cupboard must have been right in line with the mirror in her prison room. She could see through to the room, where one of the earth ponies was trying his best to stab his dagger into the magic mirror, with little success.

"They're not the usual ones. Daggertail won't be happy that they're trying to muscle in on his business..." Warden murmured. "I know them... they used to be part of the royal guard but they got kicked out for their actions in regards to confiscating illicit materials. Seems they'd confiscate half and steal the rest. I guess they're moving up in the world..."

"What're you gonna do about them?" Kuno asked, watching Warden intently.

"I... I don't know. If I go to the guard, they might tell the guard what I've been doing... and even though I'm being forced, I don't want to take the chance that they'd believe me..." Warden said, hanging his head again.

"And to think you were in the royal guard!" Kuno growled, shaking her head and sighing once. She turned, and then started to head for the door leading to the prison.

"What're you doing?!" Warden hissed, moving after her.

Kuno looked back at him a moment, before a flash of green enveloped her and she changed.

A pegasus and two earth ponies careened down the path as fast as their hooves could carry them, looking fearfully back over their shoulders as _Princess Luna herself_ stood in the doorway of the house, staring at their retreating forms.

It was several long moments before Kuno let her changes drop, and then dissolved into breathless giggles. "Oh wow... did you see their faces?!" Kuno squeaked as Warden eased up to her, looking chagrined.

"Yeah... you scared the wits out of them... what did you even do?" Warden queried, looking down at her.

Kuno grinned up at him goofily. "I told them that I'd spent a thousand years on the moon pondering on _exactly_ what I would do to a scum drug-dealer if I ever got my hooves on them."

"Well... thanks," Warden said uncomfortably. "Do you want lunch?"

Kuno snorted, turning to face him, and then narrowing her eyes, sobering. "We still have to talk about this whole Aurora business."

Warden splayed his ears back. "T-they'll hurt me if I stop..."

"Oh grow a _backbone_ colt! You're a _royal guard_ for crying out loud!" Kuno said, exasperated. "Turn them in to the royal guard! You can even do it anonymously!"

"They have friends in the royal guard. They've got contacts everywhere... It's just... It's easier to just do what they say. Then I don't get hurt," Warden said, unconsciously rubbing a hoof against his right shoulder and shuddering.

"What did they do to you?" Kuno asked, softening.

Warden hung his head, sighing helplessly. "They injected me with a toxin. It's from the Yellow Banded Cobra in the Everfree, or at least, that's what they told me. It took a while for the pain to start... They tied me down and let me struggle. Waited until I was begging them to stop, and then gave me the antidote. Told me that if I didn't grow the plant for them, they'd be stopping around with another dose... but they wouldn't be bringing any antidote."

Kuno frowned deeply at that, pursing her lips. "You need to stand up to them," Kuno said, stamping her hoof firmly.

"I tried that!" Warden growled, shaking his head and then looking away. "They broke my ankle! Told me they'd do the other one if I ever told them 'no' again. Maybe it's easy for you, you can just run away from all your problems. I can't just wave my hoof and be somepony else. I'm stuck like this," the pegasus said, turning and walking away from her without another word.

Kuno just stared after him, looking sad.


	9. Sympathy

Kuno sipped at a glass of lemonade, the straw slipped between her large front teeth so that she could effectively suckle the cool liquid from the glass.

Warden was busy cleaning up, and Kuno wasn't going to lift a damn hoof to help him, she had even told him so. Until he stallioned up and stood up to the drug dealers, he would have to deal with his own mess.

The three ponies had been rather thorough in their search, and they hadn't exactly cleaned up after themselves, leaving a large mess behind for Warden to rearrange. Thankfully, he wasn't a pack-rat, and there wasn't a _huge_ amount of mess everywhere. Mainly, it was putting the drawers back in, closing the cupboards, fixing up the pots and pans, and assorted chores.

And Kuno just watched throughout the entire thing.

"So... this Daggertail. Why's he got you growing his stuff for him?" Kuno asked, sipping at her lemonade happily.

"Because he can push me around." Warden snorted once, pushing a drawer back into its slot.

Kuno pondered for a moment, before asking bluntly, "How did a wimp like you get in the Royal Guard?"

"Thanks for the self-esteem boost," Warden growled, picking up another drawer and sliding it partway into its slot, beginning to toss spoons and forks into it.

"Any time," Kuno said, nodding with a smile.

It was almost a minute of throwing cutlery into the drawer before Warden spoke again. "I failed the Royal Guard. Rather badly, I might add. I knew it wasn't for me... but I still didn't have my special talent. Once I found out I was a dab hoof at gardening, I needed something to give me income... I don't have the endurance to work a field large enough to sell the produce. So I applied for the guard reserve. I guess Shining Armor took pity on me... figured I'd never be called into action anyhow, and so there we go."

"The armor is bitching though," Kuno said with a wise nod and a snicker. "I can totally see myself getting to like dressing up in it."

The two were silent for a while, before Kuno asked suddenly, "So this... aurora. What is it used for?"

"Hallucinogenic, mainly. Makes you see lots of pretty colour and lights, I know from experience," Warden admitted with a wry grin.

"You tried some?" Kuno asked, wrinkling her nose in distaste.

"I may have tried some on my own if I was to take to it at my own pace. Daggertail, however, didn't give me such luxuries," the pegasus said with a sad shake of his head, sweeping up the broken plates from the kitchen floor.

Kuno blinked once. "Daggertail gave you drugs?"

"You gotta remember... I was in a pretty bad place. Swarm had just died... I was alone... I was kinda depressed I guess," Warden said, looking down at his hooves with a deep frown.

Kuno guessed from his tone that he had been more than a _little_ depressed.

"The first thing Daggertail did was get me alone when I made a trip to town, and then injected me with some of the stuff," Warden said with a bitter smile. "It felt great... for a while. Wasn't long before I needed more."

Kuno wrinkled her nose again, giving the pegasus a look of mild disgust. "You didn't try to resist?"

"I was depressed!" Warden said defensively, looking away. "My wife had just died. And while I was under the influence of Aurora... I could forget the pain for a little while. 'Course, once I was good and addicted, he told me that I had to take over growing it for him, or I'd not get any more. I reluctantly agreed. And of course, I was too high at that point to even look after a tomato bush, let alone Aurora. I messed things up, and Daggertail was none too pleased. I realised that I needed to get off the stuff, so I quit."

"Just like that?" Kuno asked doubtfully, looking Warden up and down. "Forgive me if I seem unconvinced."

Warden snorted once. "It wasn't that easy, I guess... I took a few days worth of food and water in the bathroom, and handcuffed myself to the toilet."

"Drastic," Kuno stated with a blink.

"Yeah, well after the first day, I was a mess. I'd already wasted all of my water trying to lubricate my hoof enough to squeeze it free of the cuff. By the time the guards showed up to see why I missed my weekend training, I was almost dead. It wasn't until after I recovered from that, that Daggertail figured he could bend me to his will with threats of violence... and actual violence when I resisted. I've been in his 'employ' ever since. Still got the scars from the cuffs," Warden said, holding out his hoof.

In Kuno's opinion, they looked more like knife marks than handcuff scars.

"Geeze," Kuno said with a slow shake of her head, "You're like, a _doormat_. Why don't you stick up for yourself?"

"Because I get hurt," Warden stated sadly, picking up the dustpan and dumping the contents into the bin. "And I don't like getting hurt. I wish I was some big gung-ho guard capable of beating up twelve drug dealers with one hoof behind my back... but I'm not."

"And you didn't tell me all of this in the beginning because...?" Kuno asked flatly.

"It's one thing to bow to violence... and another thing entirely to be addicted to the drug you're supposed to be growing," Warden said with a sad shake of his head. "I guess... I guess I didn't want you thinking I'm some kind of loser..." The pegasus trailed off then, before giving a soft, mirthless chuckle. "Too late for that, huh?"

And with that, Warden moved towards the bathroom to continue cleaning, head lowered in shame.

Kuno was found settling down on her bed that evening, leaving Warden to his own bed. She felt uncomfortable around him at that moment, and wanted to give him space. The pegasus had obviously been through a lot more rough patches than he let on.

The changeling pulled the pillow up against her chest, laying her chin on it and closing her eyes. She knew that there were ponies who were pretty bad off in the world, but she had never really interacted with them on any personal basis. She had always targeted happy homes, where the love was strongest. Broken pegasi were rarely a good source of long-term love.

There was a rustle of movement behind her, and Kuno lifted her head to peer back over her shoulder. She blinked once at the image that greeted her.

Warden was standing awkwardly in her doorway, holding a large cream-coloured box with candles sticking out of it, burning merrily.

"What're you burning?" Kuno asked, pushing herself to her hooves and turning around to face the guard.

"I..." Warden trailed off, biting his bottom lip. "Gosh, this is gonna sound corny but... when you told me that you'd never had a birthday, I just figured..."

The pegasus sighed faintly, shaking his head and then stepping over to the bed, laying the box down. With it at the new angle, Kuno could see into the box. She realised now, that it was a cake box.

A large, circular brown cake lay inside the box, dual-layered, with white edgings and a single large word across the centre: 'KUNO'. Three candles were spaced across it at even intervals, spiraled red and white like a candycane. It wasn't a very large cake, but it was a birthday cake. A birthday cake for _her_.

"Happy birthday, Kuno," Warden said quietly. "I... didn't know what flavour you like. The top is chocolate, and the bottom is banana nutmeg... I can go back tomorrow and get it changed if you want one better..."

"N-no," Kuno squeaked, finding her voice, staring down at the cake, the burning candles reflected twice in her wide, surprised eyes. "I-It's perfect."

A sigh of relief left the guard, "Well... make a wish and blow out the candles."

Kuno blinked once, and then began to almost panic. "B-but I don't know what to wish for!"

"Wish for world peace," Warden suggested with a wry smile. "It's just a formality."

The changeling stared down at the cake, and then leaned in with a shaky inhale. This was her very first birthday wish for _her_. Kuno gave Warden a long stare, made her wish, and then blew out the candles, plunging the room into the darkness.

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you..."

Warden started singing happy birthday to her, and Kuno was glad for the sudden darkness brought about by the extinguished candles. She was quite certain she had lost her composure, and there was an odd tightness in her throat, making it hard to swallow.

Warden finished singing happy birthday to her—he really was a terrible singer—and then offered her a bread knife, to cut the cake with.

Kuno turned back to the cake, and then began to cut herself a laser-precise eighth of cake, lifting it with a trembling hoof to her mouth. The first bite was heaven. The cake itself was moist, perfectly baked. The banana and chocolate didn't mix well, and the icing was too sweet, but it was her _birthday cake_.

Blinking once, Kuno looked up, not even realising that Warden had left the room. But he had returned, tentatively holding out a box for her.

The changeling blinked several times, to get her eyes to cooperate in the darkness. Once her eyes adjusted to the dark, she saw the box for what it was. A present. A for real birthday present. It was flat and wide, square-shaped, with a large red bow around the middle of it. A tag hung off the side, which she assumed also had her name on it.

Kuno's voice was hiding somewhere in the pit of her stomach, and it took her two tries to force it up past the lump in her throat. "Y-you did all this for me?"

Warden gave a curt nod. "Everyone deserves a birthday. Even changelings."

Reaching out with shaking hooves, Kuno took the box, laying it down on the bed and then carefully unwrapping it.

Right before she opened the box, Warden spoke up. "I... I wasn't sure what to get you... I hope it isn't demeaning or anything... please don't hurt me if it's insulting..."

Carefully, Kuno pushed up the top flap of the box, revealing the collar resting underneath. With the crinkle of soft wrapping paper, she removed the collar, holding it up to the moonlight. It was a bright, vibrant red collar, with gold stitching around the edges, and her name, her entire _name_ stitched out across the back of it.

"I-It's perfect," Kuno muttered, not trusting herself to speak any louder without her voice cracking.

"I couldn't find a bell for it in town, but—"

But Kuno had already unclasped the collar and was sliding it around her neck with shaking hooves, turning to face away from the pegasus so he could do it up.

A quick tug and press, and the collar was secured in place.

"T-thank you, Warden," Kuno said, her voice cracking as she tried her best to swallow down the lump in her throat. "I really mean it."

"It was nothing," Warden said with a shrug, turning to leave.

Kuno pounced on the pegasus from behind, wrapping her hooves around his neck in a firm, earnest embrace, hugging him firmly. The pegasus paused in confusion, blinking back at her and then giving a slight smile.

"Happy birthday, Kuno."

"Thank you, Warden. Really. This means a lot to me."

Kuno sat on her bed, eating pieces of her cake and licking icing off her hooves. She had already set aside some of it for Warden to have if he wished, which was only fair. She was very careful not to get her new collar dirty, and she saw that Warden was in the doorway, watching her from the shadows, apparently thinking he was hidden. And he was smiling.

Kuno was surprised by the pegasus. He was beaten, trodden into the dirt, abused, and had gone through more hardship already than Kuno would in her entire life, she was sure. And yet, he was still just happy to watch her eat. He was happy to make _others_ happy.

Every time her hoof brushed her new collar, and with every bite of her cake, Kuno felt a little bit worse. Here she was, emotionally manipulating this pegasus for his love. She was using him as a food source, and he was happy just to make _her_ happy. A monster. A beast. She wasn't even sure what to feel any more.

But one thing was clear in her mind. The pegasus was having an effect on her. A profound one.

When she had made her very first birthday wish ever, something for _her_, the only thing she could think to wish for... was for Warden to find happiness someday; for that poor, downtrodden pegasus to at least find some peace from the problems that plagued him.

And who knew: maybe she was even starting to like him?


	10. Aurora

Kuno yawned and stretched slowly, accidentally pushing the empty cake box off the bed and to the floor. Thankfully, the box itself was empty: she had placed Warden's slice of cake in the fridge. Her stomach told her that maybe she shouldn't have eaten so much cake, but she was willing to put up with the discomfit. It was worth it.

Already, Kuno had memorized the date, so she could remember when her _birthday_ was. Even if she was with somepony else, she would remember _her_ birthday.

And then that thought stopped Kuno in her tracks.

The changeling sat up suddenly, blinking and turning to stare into the mirror across the room, watching her own reflection with wide eyes.

Even if she was with somepony else?

_If_?

Was she really thinking of staying here with him?

Kuno growled faintly, shaking her head and then rubbing her hoof against her temple slowly, trying to clear her mind. It was insane that she was even _considering_ staying with Warden. He was a train wreck in motion. A perpetual mistake.

Kuno's eyes fell on the collar around her throat, and she lifted a hoof to delicately prod at it. Her hoof slid over the 'KUNO' threaded into it, and her gaze softened. Warden wasn't so bad. His heart was in the right place, he just needed a backbone. Or he was co-dependant, and needed somepony to guide him constantly.

The changeling frowned, and then dropped her hoof, sighing softly to herself.

There was a sound at the door, and she turned to see Warden standing there, with a bucket with a spray bottle in it hanging from one wing.

"I'm off to... To... Well, I thought I'd let you know I'd be gone for a little while," Warden finished lamely, looking away.

"Off to tend to your Aurora plants?" Kuno accused.

Warden hung his head. "I have to..."

"I'm coming with," Kuno stated, slipping off the bed and stretching.

"I _have_ to, Kuno. Or Dagg—wait what?" the pegasus did a double take, blinking.

"I'm coming with you," Kuno said calmly, walking toward the door. "Show me this plant that's so special you're ruining your life for it."

Warden frowned at that, before he gave a jerky nod. "I suppose it can't hurt..."

Kuno waved a hoof. "So, lead the way then."

Warden led Kuno outside, and then turned towards her, raising a brow. "You can fly, right?"

"I have wings," Kuno pointed out with a roll of her eyes.

"Well, I just thought..." Warden trailed off, before shaking his head and then bounding several steps, launching himself into the air. Kuno glanced about, biting her bottom lip. There was a flash of green light, and when it faded, a young blue pegasus with a green mane was standing in Kuno's place, with a flower cutie mark.

Changed-Kuno bounded after Warden, launching into the air in turn. It took several flaps of her wings to get used to the way they worked at the air, before she got the hang of it and sped after the pegasus.

Warden was momentarily surprised when Kuno caught up with him, looking her up and down and blinking once, before it dawned on him that she had changed.

"Didn't wanna get seen as a changeling!" Kuno pointed out.

The pegasus nodded once in understanding.

It took a good ten minutes of flying before Warden dipped down towards a clearing in the forest canopy. Kuno followed after him, landing besides the pegasus in long, soft grass.

Warden waved a hoof for her to follow as he started down an overgrown trail, pushing his way to a cliffside and a large ravine that cut down the length of it. Immediately, he started down it.

"Geeze. Are we gonna have to insert a bone key into a rock and go down a hidden spiral staircase?" Kuno asked, looking up towards the line of sky that was visible through the top of the ravine.

Warden blinked once, pausing and looking back at her, bewildered. "You've been here before?"

Kuno blinked slowly. "You can't be serious."

"I'm not," Warden said with a laugh and a sly grin, shaking his head, poking his tongue at her teasingly. "You're gullible."

"Well... your face!" Kuno huffed, flailing a hoof at him and snorting.

Warden just chuckled and continued down the ravine. Eventually, the ravine terminated in a large clearing covered in a thick canopy, with muted shafts of light coming down through gaps in the greenery.

The walls of the ravine clearing where slick with running water, and there was a still pool of it in the centre, fed by the trickles coming from the rocks. The slick edges of the rock were mossy, and there were creeping vines of some description all over it.

The vine itself was a strange looking thing: green with red tendrils running through it that visible _throbbed_ with brightness as though with a heartbeat. Yellow bulbs were scattered along the length of the vines periodically, with those same red veins in delicate tendrils visible along the closed petals.

"They're almost ready to bloom," Warden said excitedly, bouncing on his hooves and pulling out his spray bottle, moving up to the first bulb and inspecting it closely. After several long moments, he gave the bulb a single spray with the water bottle.

Kuno watched with mild interest, head tilted to the side curiously. "So... you just spray them?"

Warden looked back at the changeling with a single snort, shaking his head. "No. This is a special formula."

The changeling rolled her eyes. "So you added a little bit of fertilizer?"

"Actually, I steeped a collection of five very expensive, very hard to grow herbs in this water, so that they'll encourage growth in this vine. Aurora is so rare because it doesn't _grow_ in the wild. It was _created_," Warden explained enthusiastically.

"And what was it created for?" Kuno asked, peering at the vine as Warden went around spraying the bulbs individually, carefully inspecting each before spraying them, and the vines surrounding them.

"Well, it was originally designed as an all-purpose plant. It's a powerful anaesthetic when it's diluted right, as well as an amnesiac. Makes it rather useful as a drug for operating rooms, because it ruins your short-term-memory completely. Anything from when you woke up, you _will not_ remember. But... that also makes it a very, very bad date-rape drug," Warden said with a deep frown. "There was even a case of pony who murdered his wife and then injected himself with Aurora so he'd forget he ever did it."

Kuno blinked and wrinkled her nose. "So it's a narcotic _and_ and a date-rape drug. No wonder it's illegal."

Warden gave a weak laugh at that. "Oh, and erm... when you distill it right and mix it with ammonia, the resultant crystals are... well, rather volatile when mixed with simple water."

"Volatile?" Kuno asked flatly.

"They explode," Warden pointed out.

"Goodness. It's a date-rape drug, an illicit substance, _and_ an explosive?" Kuno asked, aghast, staring at the plant.

"Well, it _was_ manufactured," Warden pointed out with a helpless shrug. "It's a cross between several different plants, actually. Which is why it's so damn hard to keep the vine alive and thriving. It was a group of unicorns, back in the day, who partnered up with the growing consortium of the old Earth Pony Growers League, and they designed the perfect plant. A plant that could be used for _anything_. They failed miserably and came up with Aurora.

"They chose vines because they could use vertical space rather than fields, and a pegasus team could help pick the fruits once it was good and ripe. Dunno who found out about the exploding thing, but it's something to do with the magic that manifests in the plant during the growing phases. Once the sap is crystallized, it dries out so far that the addition of water causes a massive expansion. Then there's friction so great it sets the air around it on fire, and the displaced air causes a pressure wave like an explosion. Apparently, if you set it off in sub-zero conditions, or in a vacuum spell, you're left with this fluffy white substance that's softer even than clouds."

"But why even use it as a narcotic in the first place if it's so hard to grow?" Kuno asked, bewildered.

"Because it's non-lethal. You can't overdose on it no matter how you take it. You might knock yourself out for a few days... maybe die from the dehydration from not drinking or eating. But the actual drug itself can't kill you," Warden pointed out with a wry smile. "Not to mention there are no documented long-term ill effects. Well, except the addiction..."

"So hospitals won't pay for Aurora?" Kuno queried, lifting up one of the bulbs gingerly and peering at it.

Warden snorted once. "Pay for it? They'd _kill_ for this stuff. An anaesthetic that is non-harmful, and causes manageable, precise amnesia? If it wasn't so hard to grow, they'd stop using morphine at all."

"Then why not sell it to the hospital? You could go _legit_. Get a license, or a pardon, or something from Celestia or something!" Kuno pointed out with a grin.

"And I could have my wings broken by Daggertail and his underlings," Warden stated with a defeated sigh. "I'm one of the last growers in this entire region. All of the others either gave it up entirely and sought protection from the royal guard, or left entirely. I think they even killed one of the other ponies who could grow it..."

Kuno splayed her ears back at that, frowning deeply. "And if Daggertail wasn't around?"

"Then somepony else would replace him," Warden said with a slow shake of his head. "I know you want to help, Kuno, but... I'm stuck here. I'm happy where I am. I get to grow one of the hardest plants ever, and I'm _good_ at it. And I guess it makes people happy..."

"And destroys their lives," Kuno added with a single stamp of her hoof.

Warden stared down at his forehooves, poking at the rock sadly. "I guess, yeah... but I try not to think about it. I can't change it, and it just makes me depressed."

Kuno frowned at that, shaking her head before she stepped over closer to the pegasus and then hugged around him with her forehooves, rubbing her cheek against his own soothingly. "If I help you get rid of Daggertail, you gotta give me _all _the love, kay?"

Warden gave a hollow laugh. "If you got rid of him and got his goons off me, I'd _marry_ you."

Kuno snorted once and nudged the pegasus, rolling her eyes. "Be careful what you offer, Warden."

"You're not stupid enough to hold me to that," Warden said with a shake of his head.

"You're right," Kuno replied instantly.

Warden splayed his ears back at that, giving a soft sigh.

Kuno snorted once, lifting the pegasus' head with her hooves, "Oh grow up," she chided, licking between his eyes slowly. "Marriage is overrated. I'd much rather your goal be to get me into bed."

Warden blinked once at that, looking up at her.

Kuno grinned innocently. "As your wife, I'd make you utterly miserable. But in bed, I'd make you _love_ me."

The pegasus mulled that over for several moments, before drawing back and staring at her. "How many stallions have you _been_ with?"

"Hundreds," Kuno replied shamelessly. "Even some mares."

Warden shirked back at that, wrinkling his nose. "Wow."

"Call me a whore, or easy, or anything like that, and I'm going to eat your eyeball," Kuno stated flatly.

"_Hundreds_," Warden pointed out, lips pursed.

"And how many _meals_ have you had, Warden? Thousands?" Kuno asked flatly, her eyes narrowing.

"I... I guess?" Warden replied, bewildered.

Kuno raised a hoof, waving it angrily. "That is what sex is to me. A meal. I don't do it for intimacy. I don't _want_ intimacy with the ponies I'm taking love from. I want their love. And sex is such an easy, _easy_ way to get it. If you could get a free buffet any time you wanted, would you do it?"

Warden frowned deeply, looking away. "I... Well... When you put it that way."

"Good boy," Kuno said, smiling wryly and patting the pegasus on the shoulder.

"You haven't been... well... contemplating seducing me _just_ for a meal?" Warden asked, trying to sound apprehensive but coming across more _eager_ than anything else.

"I resisted the urge. Perhaps a few days ago, when my reserves were so low. Why do you ask?" Kuno queried, an ear perking.

"Oh... just... I _really_ like Spitfire," Warden said as he started back down the ravine.

Kuno rolled her eyes, following after him with a shake of her head, her tone turning accusing as she pushed him with a hoof. "Pervert."


	11. First Kiss

Kuno hummed thoughtfully as she licked the cake batter from her hoof, testing the taste. It was a chocolate cake she was making, determined to get another since her birthday cake was so good. Warden had told her the recipe and given her all the tools and set her on her way as he went to town, with the warning of 'don't burn the house down'.

Kuno was confident that she wouldn't burn the entire house down. Hopefully. She could bake bread, at least, but a cake was an entirely different thing.

The front door opened, and Kuno paused, quickly shrinking back against the cupboard.

Hoofbeats came down the hallway, and a tired voice called out, "It's me!"

Kuno relaxed, returning to stirring the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon.

Warden dumped his carry pack on the counter, and then raised a brow at the changeling. "You're _still_ stirring it? I left an hour ago!"

Kuno bristled at that, "I gotta make sure there's no lumps! So I stirred it lots! And then the sides of it got all dry and started to harden so I had to eat them. And while those lumps were being eaten, more formed, and I had to eat those too!"

"Oh, right. You _had_ to eat them," Warden said with a slow shake of his head, holding out a hoof for the bowl.

The changeling huffed, passing over the bowl to the pegasus, who immediately poured the mixture into a baking dish and then slid it into the oven. Warden then passed the bowl back to the changling, leaning over and neatly inserting the spoon into one of the holes in Kuno's hoof. "You may lick the spoon and bowl."

Kuno's eyes widened, and she then she _glee'd_, drawing her hoof up to her face and beginning to happily lick the spoon clean.

"So why'd ya hafta go back into town anyhow? You went just yesterday," Kuno pointed out as she lapped the spoon happily.

"I only really got the cake and collar yesterday, to be honest," Warden said with a helpless shrug. "I'm not the best flyer ever, even though guard training helped a little bit. I still can't fly very well carrying huge loads."

Kuno gave a sound of understanding as she dumped the spoon into the sink and then started on the bowl.

"So why do changeling have holes in their hooves anyway?" Warden asked, as he began to unpack the food he had brought from inside the backpack.

Kuno hummed faintly, licking across the bottom of the bowl happily. "Well!" she started, her tone muffled by the bowl over her face, "our chitin is _really_ heavy. I mean _really really_ heavy. It's thin and flexible where we need to move, but rigid and thicker where we _don't_ need mobility. Like along our hooves.

With all these holes in our hooves, we reduce the weight of our chitin, I guess. Our wings aren't built to handle such heavy loads, and I guess if we didn't have these holes to reduce weight, we'd never be able to fly anywhere."

There was a silence from Warden, and Kuno flicked her wings for a moment, before coming up from the bowl and peering up at him. "What?"

The pegasus was just watching her, with an arched brow.

Kuno's face was smattered with chocolate, a line of it across her cheeks, nose, chin, and even a little bit on the end of her horn.

"Whaaat?" Kuno asked, huffing once.

"Nothing," Warden said with a slow shake of his head and a snicker.

"It doesn't _seem_ like nothing!" Kuno accused.

"Just... you're cute," Warden admitted with a wry smile.

"Well thanks!" Kuno said happily, shoving her face back into the bowl to get more of the cake batter.

Warden just shook his head, giving a short chuckle.

After a few minutes, Kuno pulled back with a soft sigh, giving a single lick along the edge of the bowl. Her face was a mess, but she was a very content-looking changeling.

"All done?" Warden asked, raising a brow at the changeling.

Kuno nodded, dropping the bowl into the sink and then picking up a spoon to peer at her distorted reflection. "Woo, I'm a mess!"

Warden chuckled, picking up a tea towel and moistening it in the sink, turning towards the changeling.

Kuno shirked back and shook her head. "Nonono! No washcloth. I don't like how it feels," the changeling said with a shudder, before a sly grin stretched her muzzle. "You're gonna have to lick me clean."

"You want me to... lick you?" Warden asked blankly.

"That is something that is involved in licking me clean," Kuno sing-songed with a mischievous smile.

Warden sighed faintly and then rolled his eyes. "Why do I feel like this is an elaborate plan for... something?"

"What could I _possibly_ gain from you licking my face clean?" Kuno asked, an ear perking.

"I... I don't know," Warden said, pursing his lips. "But this is an odd request."

"Warden," Kuno started.

"Yes?" Warden responded.

"Shut up and start licking."

Warden gave a helpless chuckle at that, shaking his head and then shuffling closer to the changeling. He extended his hooves, gently grasping her shoulders, and then leaning in close until his nose was almost against her cheek, before drawing his tongue in a firm line across a trail of cake batter.

The cake batter tasted of chocolate with that kind of powdery aftertaste of flour in it. The chitin underneath it was smooth and became slick with his tongue. It wasn't moisture-proof, and absorbed some of his saliva and the chocolate flavour, but it was still a very hard surface.

Kuno gave a happy sigh, tilting her head slightly towards the licking, careful not to gore him with her horn. Her wings lifted as she gave a happy hum, the translucent limbs giving a happy little quiver.

Warden observed this behavior with a detached interest, lapping at the changeling's cheek, and then her chin, skipping over her nose and then trailing his tongue between her eyes. Her horn almost poked him, and he tilted his head, lipping along the length of the shiny black spire until he could swirl his tongue to get the cake mix off the very tip of it. Kuno giggled faintly, twitching in place. "Tickles," she murmured, with her eyes still closed.

The pegasus smiled, looking down at her, kissing the tip of her horn, before swirling his tongue back down across her face and to her nose, delicately lapping it clean slowly. She really _was_ cute: surprisingly so.

"There... all clean," Warden said softly.

"All clean," Kuno responded with a gentle nod, giving a little bit of a sigh.

A silence stretched out between them, while Warden nervously picked at a spot on the floor with a forehoof.

Kuno honestly thought that the pegasus was going to pass up the opportunity, before Warden stepped forwards and lifted her chin with a hoof, laying an almost _urgent_ kiss on her lips, fervently kissing the changeling.

The changeling gave a hum of satisfaction at that, her wings fluttering again in happy excitement as she kissed the pegasus in response, parting her lips and sliding her tongue out between those two big teeth, immediately greeted by the pegasus' own.

Warned leaned a little bit further into the kiss, kissing the changeling in earnest, a hoof lifting to wrap around her neck and hug her close, their tongues meshing heatedly as his wings sprung up as well, fluttering and quivering excitedly at the air.

Both of them had the faint taste of cake batter in their mouths from their previous activities, and it added an enjoyable overtone to the make-out session. After several long, long moments of impassioned kissing, the two pulled back from eachother.

Kuno was wearing a lopsided grin, while Warden was flushing faintly, still nervous.

"T-that was nice," Warden admitted, brushing a hoof against the floor.

"I concur," Kuno purred in response, licking her lips and the inside of her two large teeth. "And I got free extra cake batter and free extra love. Feels kinda selfish, really."

Warden gave a wry smile at that, still nervous.

"_And_ you took the initiative!" Kuno pointed out with a grin and a bounce. "I was afraid I was going to have to hold you down and force you!"

"Afraid, or fantasizing?" Warden asked, arching a brow.

Kuno grinned, waggling a hoof at the pegasus playfully and kissing his nose once. "This stallion gets it!"


	12. A New Leaf

Warden cast his gaze about furtively as he picked up the spray bottle and the bucket, slinging them over his wing and then very quietly stepping out the front door of his home. Kuno was sleeping in her room again, and it was late enough for him to be certain that she wouldn't be roused.

The pegasus quietly closed the door behind himself, and then sat down on his haunches, waiting. He waited a full twenty minutes, for his eyes to adjust fully to the moon and starlight. Once he could see adequately, he moved to his garden, picking a bouquet of flowers that he specially grew.

Once he had collected all he needed, Warden walked quietly away from the house, and then took to the air, winging towards the Everfree.

It was a quiet little spot. A little hill rested at the edge of the Everfree, with long tendrils of grass, black in the darkness, swaying this way and that, a living carpet. The hill was devoid of trees except for the old oak at the very top, and crested high enough that when you sat underneath the oak tree, you could see across the canopy of the Everfree for miles.

It was a special spot for Warden. It was where Swarm had taken him on their first date, and they had shared a sweet little wagon-shaped honey sculpture. It was the spot where Swarm had proposed to him, fitting a hardened honey-sculpture ring over the first primary feather of his wing.

And it was also where Swarm was buried.

Quietly, Warden stepped over to the gravestone beneath the big oak tree, the grass whispering in the wind and swaying against his stomach and legs.

Carefully, the pegasus set down his bucket, and pulled out the bouquet of flowers, placing them gently in front of the picture that was affixed to the stone, a picture of Swarm.

"H-hi hun," Warden whispered softly, as he drew back respectfully, and then dropped onto his stomach, resting his chin on his forehooves and staring up at the picture. "I know I promised to visit you more often... but I've been busy. I know you'll forgive me."

Warden pulled out the spray bottle, and then carefully sprayed some of the mixture over the flowers, so they would last longer before they withered away.

"I met someone. She's really... well. She's not nice. She's... a bit like you, I guess. Really headstrong. Probably has a lot of the same stubborn streak too. But... she's a changeling. And yeah, it's pretty crazy, isn't it?"

The pegasus sighed faintly, shaking his head and brushing a hoof through his mane as he tried to collect his thoughts. "I... I really like her. Not as much as you. But... she's nice. I think maybe I can even change her. Do a little good for once. You never could stand to see me feeling sorry for myself."

Warden hesitated then, ashamed to the point that he even felt self-conscious admitting it to the hunk of stone and the flat, emotionless paper with patterns on it representing his dead wife. "S-she's... she's offered to help me get Daggertail off my back. And then I could grow Aurora for the hospital... wouldn't that be great?"

The pegasus sighed sadly, looking down at his forehooves. "...I miss you. Having Kuno around... she reminds me of you... and it's nice... but it hurts too. I-I wish you were still here, Swarm. I really, really do... I wanna hear your voice... I want you to hug me..."

Warden trailed off, laying his nose on his hoof and closing his eyes, a teardrop spilling down one cheek as he whispered brokenly. "I-I want you to not be gone..."

Time was immaterial to Warden, and he wasn't sure how long it was before he heard a rustle of movement behind him.

"W-Warden?" a familiar voice asked.

Warden didn't respond, just laying there. He should have known that Kuno would follow him.

A weight settled at his side as Kuno laid down besides him, gently touching his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Warden nodded, turning his head away from the changeling and wiping his eyes furtively with a wing, trying not to let her see. "I-I'm fine," he murmured, taking a deep, steadying breath. "Just... just delivering some flowers."

"This is Swarm, isn't it?" Kuno asked unnecessarily, gently pressing herself to Warden's side.

Warden nodded mutely.

"I heard you talking..." Kuno murmured, gently nuzzling against the pegasus' cheek with her own. "I couldn't make out much... you miss her, don't you?"

Again, the pegasus nodded without saying anything, his ears splaying back and his wings drooping.

"I... can't say I've ever lost anypony I really care about... so I don't know how you feel. I'm not sure I can really help... is there anything I can do?" Kuno asked sympathetically, stroking a hoof down the pegasus' back soothingly.

Warden turned to face her, and then lifted a hoof to drape over her as he laid his chin on her shoulder. "Just... stay here with me for a little while..."

"Was she a nice pony?" Kuno asked, wiggling closer to the stallion and gently rubbing a hoof against the top of one of his wings.

Warden nodded silently, pressing his nose into Kuno's neck with a soft sigh. "The nicest... but she wasn't always nice... she was... I dunno how to explain it. If I needed support, she was there, but if I needed a swift kick up the tail to get me to do something, she was there just as quick to deliver it. She was... perfect. And she was all mine. And she wanted _me_. She didn't care that I'm wimpy and not likely to ever win any fights. She didn't care that I let ponies walk all over me... she was just happy with _me_."

"You say that like it's a crazy thing," Kuno said with a frown, gently nudging the pegasus.

"No one should want me..." Warden said, wrinkling his nose with disgust. "I know exactly what I have to do to better myself. To make my situation right... But I never do it. I'm always too scared, too _wimpy_."

Kuno frowned further at that, squeezing the pegasus a little with her forehooves. "You're not that bad, you know."

Warden gave a hollow laugh at that, shaking his head. "You only say that because I'm the only pony you've ever met outside of your disguise."

The changeling stared at the pegasus for a long moment, and then nodded gently. "Exactly."

The pegasus blinked once, confused. "What?"

"You're the only pony I ever knew outside of my disguise. You're the only pony who's ever shown me kindness. You looked at me and didn't just see a changeling... you saw something else," Kuno said, nudging her nose against him reassuringly. "I've been with hundreds of loving stallions... I've gazed into their hearts. But you're a step above them."

"I-it's nice of you to lie for me," Warden said with a half-laugh, laying his chin on the changeling's shoulder again.

"You'd give it all up for one more day with her, wouldn't you?" Kuno asked softly.

Warden nodded slowly, staring down at his hooves. "In an instant... Just to feel her hug me again... to hear her voice, to touch her mane... to see her smile..." the pegasus trailed off, grimacing and shaking his head, biting the inside of his lip so hard he drew blood.

Kuno wrapped her hooves around the pegasus, squeezing him tightly, rubbing her nose in against his neck gently. "You don't have to be strong for me, Warden. Let it out."

The pegasus gripped the changeling tightly in his forehooves, holding her close and burying his nose against the hollow of her throat, fresh tears spilling down his cheeks. "I just... I didn't even get to say goodbye. She was just gone. Gone because I'm weak."

Kuno made a soothing sound, gently stroking a hoof through Warden's mane.

"Some days... hell, _most_ days, I wish it was _me_. It's like some cruel joke that the useless one got left behind," Warden said with a shake of his head.

The changeling nodded gently at that, leaning down to soothingly rub her nose against his forehead. "Do I mean anything to you, Warden?"

"Yes... no... I don't know..." Warden said helplessly, his ears splaying back against his skull. "I-I like you... You remind me of Swarm so much... I don't even care any more that you're not a pony."

"If it was you instead of Swarm who died, then I would have died as well," Kuno pointed out in a soft tone, nodding in affirmation. "So some good came of you."

"I..." Warden trailed off, shaking his head.

"How does it feel, to lose somepony so important?" Kuno asked gently, genuinely curious.

"It... It's like... It's like having your heart ripped from your chest, but you still go on living. It's like losing your wings... or your eyes. There's this part of you that's so... so deeply entwined with them that when they're gone, it goes as well... and it never stops hurting. And every time you're reminded of them, i-it's like having salt rubbed into an open wound. It's like losing them all over again..."

Kuno paled at that, her own ears splaying back. "That doesn't sound pleasant," she murmured softly. "What... what does it feel like to be in love?"

Warden paused at that, untangling himself enough from the changeling to look up at her, face streaked with tears. "It's... it's indescribable. It _completes_ you. It makes you feel like you can anything. It makes you so happy it _hurts_... It puts a smile on your face even if you want to cry."

Kuno nodded gently, rubbing her nose against Warden's cheek slowly. "Swarm loved you?"

Warden nodded mutely, clenching his teeth and looking away.

Kuno gently pulled him back around to face her, looking into his eyes. "Do you think Swarm would want you to be sad?"

"Swarm would... Swarm would want me to be happy..." Warden whispered softly.

"I've felt you falling in love with me Warden. I'm a changeling... I know these things," she said gently, lifting her hooves to stroke over his ears gently.

Warden lowered his head, but his silence was affirmation enough.

"I know it must feel like... like your heart is betraying you. Like you're turning your back on Swarm for a monster like me... but..." Kuno trailed off, biting her bottom lip, and then casting her gaze towards the grave stone. "Would Swarm be up there, telling you to be miserable? Honestly?"

Warden shook his head gently. "She'd be shaking her hoof at me, trying her best to whack me over the head and telling me to get out there and enjoy myself..."

Kuno nodded softly, and then wrapped the pegasus up in a hug. "You need to stop living in the past Warden. What do you see your future as? Do you want to be growing Aurora for Daggertail for the next decade?"

Warden stare down at his hooves. "I... I haven't really thought much about the future."

Kuno nodded once more, gently nudging his cheek with her nose. "You probably think that your life is already over, and this is just the fading embers of the fire you and Swarm shared... but it's not. You still have a life to live. You have to let her go, Warden. She's gone. Don't you ever dare forget her... but don't make yourself miserable on her account. It's not what she would have wanted."

the pegasus stared at his hooves in silence for several long moments after that, and even though his tone was firm, his voice broke as he said, "I-I want to be alone."

The changeling could only nod again, gently hugging the stallion, before drawing away and quietly slipping down the hill.

Warden cried silently, all alone at the top of the hill, under the big oak tree in front of his wife's grave.

"I-I've decided, hun... I-I'm turning over a new leaf. I'm not... not gonna get stepped on any more... I'm not going to be miserable," the pegasus murmured, trying to steady his breathing.

Carefully, he rose to his hooves, and stumbled over to the headstone, gripping it in both hooves. He leaned forwards and pressed a shaky kiss on the photo of his dead wife, and then averted his gaze, biting his bottom lip. Tears stained the flowers as he picked them up, and then wrapped his hoof around the buds, twisting.

"I... I know you want me to be happy, Swarm... I'll never forget you... I just hope that you'll..." Warden had to stop then, as his throat constricted, and he turned away again. Gritting his teeth, he turned back to the gravestone with fresh resolve. "I... I just hope you forgive me..."

The pegasus held up his hoof, letting the stem of the flowers fall. They had always been Swarm's favorites.

Opening his hoof,Warden let the red petals fall, littering the grave of his wife, before the wind picked them up and threw them into the air in a beautiful display, fading into the darkness of the night.

"Goodbye, Swarm..." Warden whispered as he turned away and started down the hill towards his new life.

Warden took his time getting home, quietly slipping back inside and closing the door after himself. He placed down his bucket and spray bottle, and then crawled into his bed, hugging his pillow tight against his chest and burying his face against it. His tears had long since dried, and he felt drained, emotionally and physically. For the first time in a long time, he didn't feel like crying when he thought about Swarm.

There was the sensation of movement, and then a gentle weight on his bed as Kuno tentatively stepped closer, laying herself out along the pegasus' back.

Warden rolled over, wrapping his hooves around the changeling and squeezing her tight against his chest and kissing her fiercely. Kuno gave a soft sound at his forcefulness, pressing herself to his form.

The pegasus pulled back after a moment, and then gave a soft smile, peering at the changeling in the darkness. "Thank you, Kuno... just... thank you."

"No more tears?" Kuno asked softly, gently nudging her nose against his own.

"No more tears." Warden affirmed, pulling Kuno close.


	13. Happiness

Warden awoke slowly to the ray of sunlight falling across his face, spilling in through the bedroom window. His eyes fluttered open and he stretched slowly, yawning.

His eyes opened in time to see Kuno quickly close her own eyes and pretend to sleep.

The pegasus made a soft sound, nudging the changeling curiously with his nose.

Kuno stirred fitfully, yawning and stretching slowly, pressing her hooves against his chest, tongue waggling in her yawn.

"I already saw you were awake," Warden accused.

Kuno snorted once, opening an eye to peer at him.

"Were you watching me sleep?" Warden asked, sounding both confused and slightly scared.

"...I may have been," Kuno admitted.

"Kinda creepy," Warden stated with a single blink. "Why were you watching me sleep?"

Kuno frowned at that, her ears lowering. "I... I dunno. You're just... different when you're sleeping."

"Different?" Warden asked, bewildered.

"Different," Kuno repeated, nodding once and then peering at him for a long moment. "You look peaceful... calm. It's nice."

"I can be peaceful and calm," Warden protested with a single blink.

Kuno laughed softly at that, before she shook her head, gently kissing his nose. "No you can't. There's like this pallor just hanging over your head constantly, like there's a pegasus following you around with a thundercloud just waiting to ruin your day."

"He's an earth pony, actually," Warden said with a wrinkled nose and a soft sigh. "I haven't been unconsciously happy since... well, since Swarm died."

The changeling nodded gently, though she couldn't help but contradict the pegasus in her own mind. She had seen him smiling as he watched her open her present. Seen that little spark in his eyes when he watched her licking the bowl of the cake mix.

"We should do something fun," Kuno said, nosing into the pegasus' neck slowly.

"Always trying to get me to do naughty things with you," Warden said with a roll of his eyes.

Kuno snorted once. "I mean we should go into Ponyville... you can take me on a date. Show me what you ponies do for fun."

"I..." Warden trailed off, pursing his lips. "I guess... there's a fair in Canterlot?"

Kuno smiled. "Sounds like fun."

Warden stepped through the front gates of the fair, accompanied by a snow-white pegasus with a long teal mane, and a blue flower as her cutie mark.

The front gates of the fair were marked with a big sign with the outline of a changeling on it and a big red mark over it. Underneath it were the stern words 'report any suspicious behavior. Arrange safe words with your family and friends for easy identification of changelings. Security is everypony's concern!'

Kuno stared up at the sign and scowled. Warden ushered her past it, towards the ferris wheel. "C'mon. Don't mind the signs. We're supposed to be here to have fun."

Kuno gave a nod at that, sighing once and then casting her gaze around. "So what do you think we should do first?"

Warden pondered on that for a moment. "I should get you a plushie."

"A plushie?" Kuno asked blankly, blinking once.

"Yeah, a plushie," Warden said, pointing to a large tiger plushie hanging from the ceiling of a stall. It was a simple spider-toss game, popular in fairs and Nightmare Night festivities for generations.

"I want that one," Kuno said, pointing a hoof up at a winged tiger hanging in the back.

"Then it shall be yours!" Warden said confidently, stepping up to the counter and placing down ten bits.

Three fabric spiders were given to the pegasus, and he picked up one of them, aiming the distance, and throwing it. He winced as the throw came short, the spider bouncing onto the web, far below its target.

"Woops, practise throw," Warden said self-consciously, tongue between his teeth as he concentrated on the target. His next throw went a little wide, and his third went high. His total was only five points. He needed forty for the winged tiger, which was a bullseye and two inner rings.

It was going to take a _lot_ of tries to get it right.

Warden selected an inferior toy, and passed it off to Kuno.

"But this isn't the tiger," Kuno pointed out petulantly.

"I know, but I'm still trying for it," Warden said with a confident nod.

Four tries later, and four inferior toys later, and Warden's confident was failing rapidly. "Ugh... this throwing is hard work..." he said, pointing his nose towards a refreshment stand. "Get us some lemonade, Kuno? I'll keep trying this."

Kuno blinked once, but nodded, taking the bits the pegasus offered and ducking through the crowd to get to the stand.

Once she was out of earshot, Warden stepped closer to the attendant and leaned in close. "Look... I think we both know that I'm not gonna get what she wants..."

Warden reached in, took out a small pouch of bits, and then held it out, jingling it faintly. "Just... say I won! Please!"

Warden looked over his shoulder furtively, his eyes widening as he saw Kuno returning with a pair of drinks balanced in the crook of her wings.

The attendant looked past him towards the pegasus, and then gave a wry smile. Without pausing, the attendant swiped the coin pouch, picked up three spiders, and casually tossed them the full length of the pitch to land neatly in pattern on the web, a 45 score.

The 'are you kidding me?' flabbergasted expression was still on Warden's face when Kuno came up besides him, putting down his cup of lemonade on the counter in front of him. Kuno cast her gaze at the target, her eyes widening.

"You got it?" she asked with a grin, bouncing once.

"He sure did!" the attendant said, "That last throw was something spectacular, too!"

Warden closed his mouth and then nodded mutely.

"Select your prize," the attendant said, waving his hoof.

Warden immediately pointed to the winged tiger. The attendant took down the tiger,and then passed it to Kuno, who added it to her pile of smaller plushies and grinned, snuggling it against her chest and immediately biting its ear.

The pegasus raised a brow at the changeling.

Kuno blinked once, looking up at him, still with a mouthful of ear. "What?" she asked, her voice slightly muffled by the felt ear, before she frowned and puffed out her chest. "I'm showing him who's boss!"

Warden just stared at the changed pegasus for several long, long moment. "You are insufferably cute."

"I know!" Kuno chimed with a grin.

"C'mon, we'll go check out the ferris wheel! Maybe it'll get stuck at the top and we'll be forced to sit up there in the seat for hours," Warden said with a sage nod.

Kuno's eyes widened. "Really?!"

Warden shook his head with a wry grin, "No, not really. That only happens in stories where the writer is _really_ looking for a contrived way to get the characters together. That sorta thing never happens in real life. Not to mention there's a safety winch to make the wheel turn if the power is cut."

"Awww..." Kuno said, her ears drooping.

The pegasus grinned slightly. "But we can pretend we'll be up there for ages, with only each other for company..."

"Deal!" Kuno said instantly.

The pegasus and changed-pegasus staggered in the front of Warden's home, each of them with a hoof-full of plushies or cotton candy. Kuno had never gotten cotton candy before, and had never really saw the appeal of it, but upon Warden's offer had immediately gotten herself two of each of the three flavours.

Immediately upon closing the front door, Kuno shrugged placed down her things, and then changed back to her natural form, giving a shiver. "Ugh... that is so weird. Feels strange not to be myself."

"That is the oddest sentence I've ever heard anyone say," Warden said with a shake of his head, carrying the bag to the lounge room and placing it on the table.

Kuno came in after him, placing the rest of her stuff next to the bag and humming thoughtfully, looking back and forth between the unopened cotton candy.

"Why didn't you try some at the fair?" Warden queried.

The changeling paused, and then wrinkled her nose. "Things taste different when you're an earth pony, or a pegasus, or a unicorn. And even when I'm being just regular ol' Kuno."

"How... odd. Maybe that's why unicorns eat such strange foods?" Warden suggested.

"They taste perfectly fine _as_ a unicorn," Kuno pointed out, before selecting the blue cotton candy, unwrapping it.

Holding up the cotton candy, the changeling immediately bit into it, blinking at how easily her teeth sunk through it. She drew back without biting down properly, staring at the marks she left in it. "It's all... light and full of holes."

"Hence, _cotton_ candy," Warden pointed out with a grin.

"Touché," Kuno muttered, before biting down on the cotton candy properly and drawing it into her mouth, working her jaw slowly.

Immediately, the changeling began to flail her forehooves, her eyes wide. "It's fizzling in mai mouf!" Kuno cried out, her tone muffled, eyes wide.

Warden just watched the changeling with the cotton candy and smiled, unconsciously happy.


	14. Letter

Kuno was happily chewing on her third flavour of cotton candy, the stick inserted in one of the holes in her hoof to hold it in place. She took short, neat bites of the fluffy blue candy, delighting in the strange fizzling sensation the popping bubbles produced on her tongue.

Warden was sitting at the table, reading a grower's magazine.

"How awesome would it be to own a vineyard?" Warden asked in an offhoof way, staring down at a picture of a vineyard, with ripe purple grapes hanging heavy on the vines.

"A vineyard?" Kuno asked, chewing vigorously on her cotton candy with a happy smile.

Warden nodded in response. "Aye, a vineyard. It's always been a sort of... pipe dream for me."

"Pipe dream?" the changeling asked, tilting her head. "Why would it be a pipe dream?"

"Well, I'd need space, first," Warden pointed out. "I own enough land right here. But it's all forested, and I'd only be able to grow regular old grapes here. Even if I cleared all the trees. And there's just not that much demand to regular grapes around here..."

"So grow exotic grapes," Kuno said with a shrug.

"I'd have to move somewhere else. Somewhere with a higher climate. Or even somewhere much, much colder," Warden said with a wry smile. "I always wanted to move up to the frozen north, and grow crystal ice berries."

"Crystal ice berries?" Kuno asked, blinking once.

"An exotic species of grape that was pretty popular back before the Crystal Empire disappeared. When the empire upped and left, though, there was no more ponies to work the fields and the grapes all died off. Nopony's grown crystal ice berries for hundreds of years," Warden said knowledgeably.

"So... where would you find some to grow?" the changeling asked, peering up at him with a tilted head.

"Swarm purchased a crate of seeds for me, back before she... yeah. She knew I was interested in exotic vines, and you don't get much more exotic than a vine that only grows in extreme cold and went extinct a thousand years ago," Warden pointed out with a wry smile. "I'd be the only pony around with a vineyard of them. I'd be the only producer of the wine. In five years, I'd be filthy rich."

"Being filthy rich sounds fun," Kuno said with an earnest nod. "Why haven't you done this yet? Just flown off and gotten yourself started up in the north?"

Warden shrugged. "Always been stuff keeping me here, I guess."

"Like what?" Kuno challenged.

"Suicidal depression?" Warden offered, raising a brow.

Kuno's ears splayed back, and she nodded gently. "I guess that's as good a reason as any... But now? What's stopping you?"

"Daggertail, for a start. I'd need to murder him. And then I'd need to purchase the land to grow the vines, and then take the crate of seeds out of cold storage and haul them up north over the roads because it'd take a dragon to carry it in the air. Or a team of four flyers tethered to it, I guess." Warden hummed faintly, rubbing at his chin. "Mainly the Daggertail thing and the lack of land thing though."

"That sucks," Kuno said with a wrinkled nose. "Why did Swarm get the seeds when she knew you couldn't grow them here?"

Warden smiled faintly at that. "She was an optimist. She figured we'd save up and get some land up there."

"So why aren't you saving up to get land?" Kuno asked, blinking in confusion.

"Because of Daggertail. His Aurora crop is one of his biggest sources of income. I doubt he'd just let me go," Warden said with pursed lips.

"And if you murdered him, someone would take his place?" Kuno asked with a deep frown.

Warden nodded, "That's the long and short of it."

"So you just need to convince Daggertail to leave you alone... and then you'll be free?" Kuno queried.

Warden gave a nod. "_Just_. That's the operative word."

"Have you tried asking him?" Kuno queried, perking an ear.

Warden laughed. "Asked him? He's not one to respond well to questions like that."

"Let me ask him. Gimme the name of one of his underlings," Kuno stated, placing her half-eaten cotton candy back in a plastic wrapping.

"I... don't think that's such a good idea," Warden said with a shake of his head, biting his bottom lip.

"I just wanna give him a letter to take to Daggertail. That's all I'm gonna do. Send him a message," Kuno appeased with an innocent smile.

"Not gonna murder him, or hurt him, lace the envelope with explosives, poison, or anything crazy like that?" Warden asked suspiciously.

"I promise I'm just gonna send him a message asking him to leave you alone," Kuno said with an earnest nod.

Warden pursed his lips, frowning deeply. "I... I guess it wouldn't hurt. His second-in-charge is a really mean unicorn named Sunshine. Don't let his name fool you, he's stupid, mean, and doesn't have a nice bone in his body."

Kuno nodded, smiling and then bouncing over to the table, pulling up a piece of paper and a quill.

"Dear Daggertail..."

Daggertail lived in a large manor at the edge of Canterlot, with a perfectly cut lawn, a long white walkway to the front door wide enough for a carriage, flanked by hedges and ornate hedge sculptures.

The white rocks crunched underhoof as Sunshine made his way up towards the front door of the manor, a letter being levitated in front of him. Imagine his surprise when a strange pegasus had just shown up in front of him in the street with a message for Daggertail. He was a good second in command, though, and he followed the young pegasus to get the envelope. After all, what was the harm in a young pegasus? They were weak and wimpy, anyhow.

The front door opened easily, and the unicorn stepped through confidently, nodding to the guard inside the door. The earth pony was wearing proper metal armor, like the Royal Guard, but this armor was bronzed, distinctly different from that of the regular guard.

Sunshine just walked past them, before he blinked and rubbed his head with a hoof. "I uh... forget the way to the bosses room again. Was it left or right?"

The guard sighed and waved a hoof to the right.

"Thank ye kindly," Sunshine said, stalking off confidently in that direction.

Daggertail was an older unicorn, though not yet going grey. Gold jewellery adorned his pale white body: a gold diamond ring around his horn, a single gold earring in the tip of his right ear, and a gold monocle on a fine chain over his left eye.

The unicorn was reading a magazine while smoking a pipe and sipping at a glass of brandy with two ice cubes in it. He was sitting at a polished mahogany desk with his hindhooves crossed and resting on it, lazily lounging without a care in the world.

A picture of Nightmare Moon was hung on one wall, and was filled with holes, with a set of three thin daggers designed for throwing embedded in its surface.

"Letter for you, boss!" Sunshine said as he stepped through the doorway, holding up the envelope.

"How many times must I tell you to _knock_ before you enter? Go back and knock," Daggertail said calmly, waving a hoof in a shooing motion.

Sunshine's ears lowered, and he backed out of the room with an apology, before closing the door and gently knocking on it.

"Come in!" Daggertail called.

Sunshine pushed the door open again, and then stepped inside, moving up to the desk and depositing the letter upon it. "Letter for you, boss."

"You're going to make me read it?" Daggertail asked flatly.

Sunshine blinked once, and then fumbled for the envelope, ripping it open and tugging out the neatly folded piece of paper, staring down at it.

"I _know_ you can read, Sunshine. Now _read it_," Daggertail demanded, waving his hoof.

"Dear Daggertail,

"You don't know me. My name is Kuno. I have recently come to the country after much hardship in my home country. It has come to my attention that you are extorting my new friend Warden, forcing him to grow crops for you.

"I kindly require that you engage with Warden in a true business relationship or cease requiring his services altogether, as it really isn't very fair for-"

Daggertail cut sunshine off, snorting once and rolling his eyes. "Who gave this to you?"

"Just some pegasus in the street," Sunshine pointed out. "She was real nice but I've never seen her before."

"Have you checked up on Warden recently?" Daggertail asked.

"I checked on him just before I left to come here actually," Sunshine admitted, nodding once.

"And?" Daggertail queried, raising a brow.

"He and Kuno had a message for you," Sunshine said lamely, waving the piece of paper. "But the pegasus, Kuno. She wanted to deliver a message personally."

"A personal message? She'll come here to the manor?" Daggertail asked, seeming amused. "I must say, it would save time. Do you have any idea what the message is?"

Sunshine nodded, closing his eyes and furrowing his brows, thinking hard.

"Oh, right!" Sunshine said after a moment, his eyes opening.

Daggertail recoiled as he caught sight of Sunshine's eyes, now a deep, ghostly, uniform blue colour.

The unicorn leapt over the mahogany desk fluidly, sliding his rump out and slamming both hindlegs into Daggertail's chest, shoving him to the ground while Sunshine himself leapt atop the prone form, smashing a hoof into his chest and knocking the wind out of him. A quick touch of horns together drained Daggertail's magical abilities, removing any chance of retaliation.

Kuno grinned down at the winded unicorn, letting her changes drop as she leaned in close, her fangs pressing along the unicorn's cheek until she reached his ear. She bit down hard, drawing blood and making the unicorn arch and cry out in pain.

"Have I got your attention, Daggertail?" Kuno asked sweetly.

Daggertail nodded vigorously, wheezing and trying to catch his breath.

"I'm not going to kill you..." Kuno whispered, smiling eerily at the unicorn, breathing the words into his ear. "Back in my home land... my name means 'agony'. I'm not quite sure why my mother chose to name me this, but I realised quite early on that my name is very telling."

Leaning over further, Kuno hooked her teeth through the unicorn's earring, and then jerked her head back hard.

A soft giggle left the changeling as she held her hoof over Daggertail's ear to muffle his sudden scream, his earring, now slicked with blood, gripped between her front teeth.

She leaned in close again, gripping the unicorn's chin in her hoof and squeezing unnecessarily hard. "Any pony you know. Everypony you ever see in the street..." She leaned in closer, laving her tongue seductively over the hole in his ear, "Any pony you _ever bloody see_. If you cross Warden again, then you'll be watching every single one of these ponies. I won't kill them, oh no no no," Kuno said with an innocent giggle, biting gently at the base of his ear.

Daggertail whimpered, a hoof raising to try and hold at his bleeding ear, staring fearfully up at the changeling.

Kuno giggle softly, and then breathed into his ear, "Any single one of them... Just remember. I could be _anypony_. Your mother. Your child. Your best friend. Your second in command. I can be _any of them_. And if you cross Warden... I'll be coming for you."

With a low, evil laugh, the changeling rose off the unicorn, and then punched him hard in the stomach again, winding him further, making him wheeze breathlessly, his eyes rolling into the back of his head.

Kuno stepped over to the picture of Nightmare Moon, tugging one of the daggers from it. Quietly, she picked up the letter, the ring, and the dagger, and then slammed the dagger down into the mahogany desk, before reverting back to Sunshine's form and walking calmly back out of the room.

By the time Daggertail recovered enough to pull himself to his hooves, the changeling was long gone. The dagger was embedded in his desk, pinning the letter to it, with his earring hanging from the blade of the dagger. On the piece of paper was a single word in large bold letters.

**REMEMBER**


	15. Finale

Kuno was sitting in the bath again, humming happily and scrubbing herself off, a toothbrush stuffed in her muzzle and a full fake mane of bubbles cascading down her back. It was night, and she was getting ready for bed.

She had already delivered the news that Daggertail would most likely be leaving him alone, and now all they had to do was wait. Warden was still awake, pacing back and forth. One of Daggertail's cronies was due for a check up that very next morning. If he didn't arrive, then Warden would know that he was free.

Daggertail, however, had other plans.

"Oi, you pair, go around the back and make sure they don't try to escape out the back window or something," Sunshine said, waving a hoof to two of the big earth ponies accompanying him. The two ponies nodded, immediately splitting off the main group and heading for the rear of the house.

Sunshine gave a malicious grin, turning to the remaining four earth ponies. "You remember the orders, right?"

The four ponies nodded.

The unicorn gave a grin at that, waving a hoof for them to proceed. The four ponies fanned out, heading for the windows and doors of the building. Sunshine watched them go, rubbing a hoof against his temple where Kuno had knocked him down the dark alley. It would be time for revenge so very soon.

Kuno hummed to herself happily, rubbing a sponge around her neck where her collar usually sat, brushing the chitin there where it was starting to get scuffed. She considered finding a way to put an extra-soft padded part on the inside of the collar, so it wouldn't ruin her chin: she would have to ask Warden about it.

That was the last thought Kuno had before the window beside her exploded inwards.

Glass showered the bathroom, tinkling to the tiled floor while the rock that was thrown through the window clattered across the hard surface, banging against the door.

Kuno was momentarily stunned, caught by surprise. She quickly pulled herself up out of the bath, and spun towards the window, her teeth baring in a show of aggression.

By the time the changeling realised that no one was at the window any more, the door to the bathroom was being kicked in, slamming against the wall. A pair of earth ponies stood there, grinning at her maliciously. The one that had thrown the rock through the window appeared at the broken hole, smiling evilly, blocking her escape.

Kuno spun around to face the doorway, watching as another pony headed past them down the hall, towards Warden's room. The sound of a commotion quickly followed.

Kuno launched herself at the two ponies in the doorway, raising a hoof to bring down on their heads.

The first earth pony sidestepped, moving forwards and to the side. Before Kuno even realised what was happening, the second pony caught her with a ringing blow right on the nose. The changeling blinked listlessly, falling back onto her rump and staring with wide eyes, a peculiar ringing in her ears and blood starting to trickle from her nostrils.

A brutal sideswipe blow from the first ponies hoof caught the changeling right across the cheek, sending her keeling sideways to the tile floor, unconscious. The pure white tiles were quickly sullied by a slow dribble of blood drooling from her nostril and the corner of her mouth.

Sunshine walked through the front door of the house as if he owned it, sauntering towards the lounge room, where the unconscious Kuno, and the struggle Warden were being dragged.

"Lemme go!" Warden demanded, trying to kick his way free. A quick blow to his stomach silenced him.

Warden paled when he realised that Sunshine was in his lounge room.

"Hello, Warden," Sunshine said warmly. "What _strange_ company you keep these days."

Warden blinked once, his eyes widening as Kuno was dragged in from the bathroom, dumped unceremoniously on the floor.

"Don't you dare hurt her!" Warden snarled, struggling all the harder.

A second blow to his stomach silenced him, and he doubled up, wheezing hard, hooves holding his stomach.

"Daggertail sent us here to deliver a message," Sunshine said with a highly malicious smile, peering down at the pegasus. "Say goodbye to your little bug friend."

Warden gasped for air, panting and clawing with his hoof to try and get back to a standing position. One of the earth ponies picked up the changeling, hone hoof around her middle, the other gripping her horn, tilting her head back and exposing her throat. A second pony stepped forwards, drawing a dagger and giving a wicked grin.

"N-no!" Warden breathed, pushing himself to his hooves and trying to move towards the changeling. He didn't even see the blow that caught him in the ribs, but he was sure he felt something in his rib cage break under the powerful impact. A second hit between his shoulders dropped him to the floor once more. His eyes began to water as he stared up at the unconscious changeling. "P-please, no!"

The pony with the dagger stepped closer, holding the dagger against the changelings neck, licking his lips, savouring the moment.

"N-no..." Warden breathed, hanging his head, defeated.

Sunshine held up a hoof. "Wait."

Warden lifted his head, blinking hopefully.

"Daggertail just wants the changeling dead. Let the guard execute her, we'll turn her in for the bounty," Sunshine said, a thoughtful note in his voice. "Either way, she still dies."

"B-but," Warden whispered. "Y-you can't."

"Shut up, you!" Sunshine snarled, kicking the pegasus hard in the ribs. Warden felt something else crack. "Hold his hoof," Sunshine said calmly.

The two earth ponies relinquished the changeling, dropping her to the floor unceremoniously, before moving over to the pegasus. Warden sucked in a breath, his eyes widening as his hoof was extended, held forcefully in place.

"Beg for me, Warden. Beg me not to hurt you," Sunshine said maliciously, staring down at the pegasus.

"P-please don't hurt me..." Warden said with wide eyes, looking up at the unicorn and then down at his hoof, struggling faintly.

Sunshine pursed his lips thoughtfully, before a slow, mirthless smile stretching his muzzle. "No."

_Crack!_

Warden screamed in pain as Sunshine stomped with his full weight on the outstretched limb, right in the perfect spot. The earth ponies themselves winced at the sound of bones breaking, and Warden heaved so hard that his hoof was freed, hanging at an odd angle.

The pegasus continued to scream hoarsely, holding his broken hoof against his chest, tears streaming down his cheeks as he writhed in pain.

"The wing," Sunshine said emotionlessly.

The earth ponies grabbed one of Warden's wings, stretching it out fully. Warden felt the motions, and he stiffened, his eyes flicking open as he turned a tear-streaked face up towards Sunshine.

"P-please!" he pleaded, blubbering, "Please don't! I'll do anything! I-I'll do anything you w-want, j-just don-"

The pegasus never even got to finish his sentence, as Sunshine just sneered and then quickly leapt up, slamming his hoof down against the pegasus' wing as hard as he could.

A fresh scream left the pegasus as his wing broke, right on the middle joint. He screamed so hard he began to cough, and then threw up all over the floor, and then he screamed some more. Liquid agony filled him, burning fiery hot in his form.

"Pathetic," Sunshine stated with a contemptuous snort, though he seemed pleased with the pain he had inflicted on the pegasus. "I trust you won't be defying Daggertail again?" he asked with a mean smile, gripping Warden's mane and tugging his head up. "Now. Thank me for not killing you, Warden, or I'm going to break your other wing."

Warden sobbed helplessly, tears splashing onto the floor. "T-thank you f-for n-not killing me..." he managed to squeeze out in between harsh sobs of pain and shame.

"Good little boy," Sunshine said with a malicious smile. He waved a hoof, and the earth ponies began to file out, carrying the unconscious Kuno between them.

Sunshine stood up then, turning to leave. He paused in the doorway, looking back. "We'll be back tomorrow for a progress update on our crop."

Warden shuddered as he tried to stand. Sunlight streamed in through the window in the lounge room, and the pegasus hadn't been even able to stand yet. The smell of his own dried vomit churned his stomach, and he was ashamed. Ashamed and broken.

Everything had been taken from him. Again. Kuno, the one thing he had in the world that was good, was gone. She would be executed by the guard.

First Swarm. Now Kuno.

He had been _so close_ to being happy. And now it was snatched away.

He wished that Sunshine had just killed him.

After a few minutes, Warden managed to push himself to a rough sitting position, beginning to drag himself, one-hoofed, towards the bathroom. He was going to take the entire bottle of magic suppressants. There was enough toxins in there to kill himself. There was nothing more to live for. His life was over.

It took _minutes_ for him to get to the bathroom: Painful, tear-filled minutes. But the thought of an end to the suffering he was in fortified the pegasus, and he struggled onwards.

Dragging himself across the tiles was easier, and he brushed the broken glass out of his way, pulling himself up so he was leaning over the sink. He opened up the medicine cabinet, and pulled out the bottle of pills, shakily undoing the top of it.

But something stopped him.

The word KUNO appeared in front of him, and he blinked once, trying to focus. It took several moments for him to realise that he could see the changeling's collar lying besides the tub, her name visible on it. And it gave him pause.

Kuno was gone. Given to the guard. Gone.

But maybe she was still alive?

Warden stared down at his hoof, at the bottle full of tablets there. It would be so easy to just end it all. So easy to take that path out. No more pain, no more suffering. But what of Kuno? Warden was her very last chance at being saved.

It almost made him laugh, to think of the changeling, so assertive and strong, relying on _him_ of all ponies. The greatest failure ever.

Warden looked up at his own reflection, and felt his eyes misting with tears. Weak. He was weak.

His gaze hardened, and he dropped the pill bottle. Pills spilled down the drain in a torrent of blue, lost to him.

Warden stared at his reflection, biting his tongue until he tasted blood, his expression turning determined. It was time to stop being weak. Kuno needed him.

Kuno whimpered faintly as she awoke, blinking her eyes open slowly. Immediately, she tried to struggle, realising that her hooves and head were affixed in place. Her heart began to pound, and she shuddered, her first though being of a guillotine. A quick glance around revealed that she was in a wooden stockade. A quick shift of her hindlegs revealed that she had manacles around her hooves. She was captured.

Sunlight was all around, and as her eyes adjusted, she realised she was bound in place, in the courtyard of the Canterlot Palace, where she was easily visible to the guards patrolling the walls and any visitors to the castle itself. A soft sigh left the changeling, and she hung her head. This was the public shame area. She was being made an example of: being publicly displayed like a trophy.

Four hours. Four painful, tear-filled, agonising _hours_ was how long it took Warden to walk to Canterlot. His hoof was splinted very roughly with tattered bandages and a leg of his chair. One of his wings hung limp, and tears dripped from under his helmet. He had barely been able to get his wing through the chest armor, but he had managed it somehow.

After taking three magic suppressants to dull the pain, he had begun the long trek. One hoof after the other. Time was meaningless. But he had a goal, and he was going to reach it, one way or another.

As he walked through the Canterlot streets, ponies tried to help him, seeing the pain he was in. He ignored them completely, just staggering through the street towards the palace, head lowered, expression hidden under his helmet.

By the time Warden reached the front gate of the Canterlot Palace, he had garnered quite a crowd, slowly following him, equal parts concerned and curious, exchanging hushed whispers among themselves.

Shining Armor himself met Warden at the front gate of the palace, the Guard Captain resplendent in his purple armor.

"Halt, soldier! What happened to you?"

Warden lifted his head, pausing in his dogged steps, murmuring, "Life happened."

The pegasus started to limp forwards again, but Shining Armor sidestepped in front of him, holding out his spear horizontally, blocking his progress. "Identify yourself, soldier."

Warden paused at that, sitting back on his haunches and then drawing his own spear, holding it awkwardly in one hoof. The crowd gasped, and many withdrew, forming a circle around the two of them, comprised of regular ponies and royal guards.

"Walking here was the hardest thing I've ever done. I'll walk right through you to get to her," Warden murmured, grimacing.

"To get to..." Shining Armor trailed off, completely unintimidated by the pegasus' spear.

"I don't want to hurt you," Warden stated, brows furrowing.

"You're... here for the changeling?" Shining Armor asked, his eyes narrowing as he gave a slow shake of his head. "You'll not progress any further."

Warden sighed faintly, hefting his spear, and then hopping forwards, twisting it to bring the back of the spear down on the Guard Captain's head.

Shining Armor dodged deftly, and then quickly brought the end of his own spear up, the but tip catching Warden right under the chin, lifting him off his hooves and dumping him on his back. His helmet clattered away, bouncing and thudding until it came to rest at the hooves of one of the guards.

"Cease and desist!" Shining Armor demanded.

Warden gripped his spear, and doggedly pushed himself to his hooves again, adjusting his grip on the spear and stepping towards the Guard Captain, moving to him him again.

Shining Armor stepped into the blow, easily pushing Warden's spear away, and then delivering a pair of brutal, fast blows to the pegasus' head and neck with the blunt end of the spear, sending Warden reeling to the ground again.

"Why do you continue to fight?!" Shining Armor demanded to know.

"Only thing left worth fighting for," Warden muttered as he staggered to his hooves again, limping slightly as he tried to keep his balance.

The guard captain stepped forwards again, sweeping Warden's spear away deftly, and then shoving him over bodily, his spear point coming around to rest against the pegasus' throat, the razor-sharp point digging into the soft flesh.

Warden just stared up at him cloudy eyes, emotionless.

"What are you _doing_ Warden?! Consorting with changelings?!" Shining Armor demanded to know.

Warden stared up at the guard captain, and then, slowly, he smiled.

Shining Armor was caught off guard by that, unbalanced.

"You don't even know..." Warden murmured. "Don't even... just... you see her as a monster. Don't even see the pony underneath."

"She is a changeling!" Shining Armor stated with a growl.

Warden turned his head, catching sight of Kuno watching with teary eyes, struggling against the stockade futiley.

"She's so much more than that..." Warden murmured, laying his cheek on the warm flagstone with a shudder. "So much more..."

"She's got you brainwashed!" Shining Armor hissed, shaking his head.

Warden laughed at that, shaking his own head. "You're the one who's brainwashed. Brainwashed to hate them. Brainwashed to be close-minded... She's not a monster. She's... she's beautiful. I love her. If you can find something to charge her with beyond being born as what she is, then go ahead! Execute her!"

The pegasus growled faintly, and then his good hoof was suddenly gripping Shining Armor's spear, just below the bladed tip, holding it firmly against his own throat. "If I deserve to die for trying to be with the one I love, then go ahead! Do it! Kill me!"

Shining Armor stared down at the pegasus, uncertain.

A figure stepped out of the crowd, moving quickly towards the guard captain. Princess Cadance stared down at Warden as well, and then exchanged an urgent, hushed conversation with her husband in quiet whispers.

Warden relinquished the spear tip, just sighing and laying his head on the flagstones, staring at Kuno, so close, and yet so far away.

Kuno stared at him in return, a tear trickling down her cheek. She said his name, but she was too far away for him to hear it.

Shining Armor finished talking with his wife, and then stared down at the pegasus, before taking a slow step backwards. He made a motion with his hoof, and the guards spread out uncertainly, making a path between Warden and the bound Kuno.

Warden blinked slowly, and then pushed himself to his hooves shakily, staring with wonder at the straight shot to the changeling. Without asking questions, he began to hobble towards the stockade. He exchanged a glance with Cadance in passing: the alicorn of love, and she just nodded gently in understanding, mouthing 'go to her'.

The pegasus stumbled as he reached the stockade, pulling himself up onto Kuno's level and kissing her urgently, throwing his hooves around her.

"I-I thought I lost you," Warden murmured breathlessly, kissing the changeling again with a fervent motion.

"I-I'm sorry, Warden," Kuno whispered, kissing him in response, her ears splayed back. "I shouldn't have gone to Daggertail... it's all my fault."

Warden shook his head firmly. "Shhhh. Shhhh..."

Kuno fell silent, staring self-consciously at the crowd watching them. "W-what now?"

"We go home," Warden murmured, a shaking hoof lifting to open the stockade, undoing the levers and lifting the block. He winced in pain, gritting his teeth, but managed to get the changeling loose.

Kuno wiggled free, and then stared around nervously, taking note of how many of the royal guard were there. There were dozens.

"W-Warden..." Kuno murmured fearfully.

"Be strong, Kuno," Warden responded, pushing himself wearily to his hooves and placing his good wing over the changeling, starting to walk with her towards the front gate.

The entire crowd, ponies, royal guards, guard captain and princess alike, all watched the unlikely pair in silence. Not a single pony lifted a hoof to help, but neither did a single pony try to stop them as Warden slowly hobbled out of the palace courtyard with the one he loved.

Warden made it all the way to the main street of Canterlot before he collapsed, staggering and falling to the road heavily. Kuno couldn't wake him.

Several things happened in Canterlot over the next few days. A young pegasus was seen going to the Canterlot bank and withdrawing her entire savings account, buying up a plot of land in the far north. Her name: Fleetwing.

Authorities were called in to investigate the death of one Daggertail, whom was found with a dagger buried in his throat. The investigators concluded, quite firmly, that he had been murdered by Sunshine, long-time underling and petty criminal. This conclusion was reached even though Sunshine was found three miles away in a ditch with his neck broken. The investigators decided that he had fallen while trying to flee, breaking his neck. Case closed. Any evidence to the contrary was 'filed for proper review' and promptly ignored.

And the members of the Canterlot hospital became rather used to the odd sight of a changeling sitting by the bedside of an unconscious pegasus, watching over him like a hawk.

Everyone knew the story of Kuno, and the pegasus who had trekked four miles with a broken leg to try and rescue her. It was said that Princess Cadance herself had been the one who convinced Shining Armor to let them go, and the royal guard themselves were wary of the changeling, but did nothing to impede her.

Kuno stared down at Warden, biting her bottom lip. He was in an induced coma until his injuries healed. He had internal bleeding, broken ribs, broken hoof, and broken wing. He would never be able to fly again, and he would always walk with a limp.

And he had trekked four miles on a suicide mission to save her.

Kuno felt her eyes misting with tears as she stared down at him, and gently laid a letter on his chest, and then another piece of paper, and, with a shaking hoof, her collar.

Once she was done, Kuno slipped out of the hospital, and was never seen there again.

Warden took eight entire days to awaken, and when he did, he was alone. Kuno was gone. All that remained was her note, a deed to a plot of land in the far frozen north, and her collar.

The note read:

**Dead Warden.**

**I don't know how to say this. But I'm leaving. I have decided that I do not love you. I do not know what love is. Love is for ponies. Love is more than just a food source, more than just a sensation. More than just a food source.**

**You showed me what love is, what it can do. You trekked four miles to save me. Four miles with a broken leg, wing, and internal injuries.**

**You did all this because you love me. I've felt it. I know it. You know it.**

**But if I change events in my mind, I know that I would not be able to do the same.**

**You are an amazing pony, Warden. And you deserve a pony who loves you as much as you love them. I'm sorry I'm not that pony, but I sincerely hope you find her someday.**

**Thank you for everything, Warden. Be happy. You deserve to be happy and in love.**

**Yours truly**

**Kuno**

Warden was seen by several of the nurses to be holding the collar and the letter to his chest late at night, crying himself to sleep.

_**Two months later**_

Warden looked up at the four pegasus who were tethered to his crate of seeds, carrying it to the north, fading into the distance, before he cast his glance back at Canterlot. He was leaving it all behind, to start anew in the far north, where he could forget everything.

He had sold his house, turned over the Aurora to the guards, and attested at to a courtroom about the drug trade in Canterlot, and Kuno's part in everything that had happened. Eventually, the magistrates had decided that his actions in growing the Aurora were excusable as he was under duress, and Kuno was innocent in the whole ordeal, though she would be watched if she was found again.

Sighing faintly, Warden looked down at the letter from Kuno, and then silently ripped it into pieces, and scattered them to the wind.

"Goodbye, Kuno..." Warden whispered, as he limped to the carriage and pulled himself up into it. "Thank you for everything..."

Warden pulled the door closed, and then tapped on the divider between him and the driver. The carriage trundled off towards the north, carrying Warden in it, bearing him towards his new life.


	16. Epilogue

_**One year later**_

Warden sighed faintly, sitting on the rope swing under the tree, kicking a hoof through the snow idly. It was near harvest season, and he had leisure time while he waited for the berries to ripen. The north field was ploughed, ready to be planted, and his first vineyard helper, an earth pony named Green Hoof, was taking a break for a few days visiting her parents.

The soft jingle of Kuno's collar filled the air, helping Warden reminisce about the brief time he had spent with the changeling. He was still in love with her, but it had been so long since he had seen her. He wasn't sad any more, just melancholy. He obviously wished that she hadn't left, had wished that he could convince her to stay. It was almost like losing Swarm all over again, but Kuno had left him so much stronger than when she had found him.

After the events of Canterlot, the hate-search for changeling had dropped off a little. He hadn't heard much from down south in recent months, too busy tending to the vineyard, but he hoped that Kuno was happy, wherever she was.

A particularly harsh jingle of the bell made Warden look up, and he blinked once, slowly.

Kuno was sitting in front of him, quite visible against the snow, with her collar in her mouth, watching him.

Warden shook his head to try and clear it, rubbing at his eyes.

Kuno gave a wry smile, raising a brow. "Took a while to track you down," she murmured, her voice muffled by the collar.

"K-Kuno?" Warden murmured.

"That's my name!" Kuno said with a happy nod.

Warden pounced on her, dragging the changeling down into the snow and wrapping his hooves around her tightly, kissing her urgently, his heart swelling in his chest until it was hard to breath. "Y-you're here!"

"You don't have to strangle me!" Kuno giggled, dropping the collar aside and then leaning in to kiss the pegasus gently. "Thought I'd come check up on you."

Warden nodded, gently pulling back, and then rubbing his nose against her own slowly, pulling himself up out of the snow, and then staring at her. "I don't believe you're actually here... I never thought I'd see you again," he said, his voice breaking.

"Well, I left something behind. Something I had to come get," Kuno pointed out with a smile, picking up her collar and jingling it faintly.

Warden's face fell at that. "Oh..."

"Help me put it on, silly," Kuno said, seemingly oblivious, turning away from him and presenting her neck.

Warden stepped forwards, gently sliding the collar over her neck and then fastening it. "There..." he murmured, petting her neck.

Kuno turned back to face him, bouncing once in place and then grinning at the jingle the movement produced. "You wouldn't believe what I went through."

"Busy?" Warden asked, crunching through the snow back to his seat, still carrying a pronounced limp.

Kuno nodded in affirmation, pulling herself up onto the seat next to him.

"You taught me a lot of things... but I wanted to know what _love_ is. For a creature that feeds on something to not even know what it is..." Kuno shook her head slowly, wrinkling her nose.

"Love can't be quantified," Warden said with a snort, peering sideways at her. "Even if you _do_ feed on it."

Kuno nodded once. "I figured that out... took a while though. But I found out what love is."

"Oh?" Warden asked, raising a brow. "And what would that be?"

"Love is... really fricking hard to explain," Kuno said, waving a hoof with a snort. "It's like food. It fills you up and makes you warm and tickly inside!"

Warden smiled at that, and then nodded. "You found someone?"

"Boy, did I ever! Well... s'more like he found me, really," Kuno admitted, frowning for a moment,and then shrugging. "He's really brave, and strong, and smart, even. Not much of a looker though."

"Sounds like me, except he's brave, strong, and smart," Warden said with a wry grin.

Kuno nodded, giggling once. "He taught me a lot about love, you know... even if he didn't really mean to."

"Everyone teaches us something," Warden said pensively.

"Sure do, but he taught me more!" Kuno said with an earnest nod. "Challenged how I thought just by _being_ around me. He's really cool like that. But... I wasn't sure if I loved him, so I sorta... ran away."

"You're good at that," Warden said with a soft smile.

"But... I figured out that I _am_ in love with him," Kuno admitted, leaning closer to him, laying her cheek on his shoulder. "Because... without him, I just felt... empty. You know?"

"I really don't," Warden admitted with a wry smile.

"I felt like... I dunno. I could get love from anypony I wanted. But he was different... everypony I went to after that was inferior. It was like his love was the only thing I wanted. I mean, I don't think I could ever walk four miles for him with a broken hoof, but I'm no you," Kuno said with a nod, nosing his shoulder gently.

"He must be one lucky stallion to have you," Warden said with a soft sigh.

"And he said he'd marry me," Kuno gushed, "And I didn't, not once, not even a little bit in my head, think that this was a bad thing. I could see myself spending my _life_ with him."

"That's nice," Warden muttered, inching away from the changeling. "I'm really happy for you..."

Kuno frowned deeply at that, pouting. "You're jealous, aren't you?"

Warden sighed and nodded. "I guess I am... this mysterious stallion is getting everything I was fantasizing about. I can't help it."

"Well this mysterious stallion said that if I got rid of Daggertail, he'd marry me, so he's kinda trapped," Kuno said with a sage nod.

Warden spluttered at that, his eyes going wide.

Kuno lifted a hoof to his muzzle, and pulled him close, rubbing her nose against his own gently, silencing him from anything he was about to say. "Marry me, Warden."

Warden blinked several times, his cheeks flushing with warmth. "B-but, I..."

"Don't make me get the rope and convince you," Kuno threatened with a grin. "I think it could be quite fun wrassling you down in all this snow."

"But... you left!" Warden protested weakly, utterly confused.

"Because I didn't love you!" Kuno said, huffing once. "Or at least... I didn't think I did. But... after I left, I just felt hollow and empty. The love I stole from others just... it wasn't enough any more. It was food, but it wasn't what I needed. It was like stale, hardened bread compared to a fresh loaf of cinnamon roll."

"I... I don't even know what to say..." Warden admitted, staring at the changeling, shocked.

"Say 'yes'," Kuno said, waving a hoof firmly. "You love me. I love you. Let's get married and have a vineyard together. We can even get a dog!"

"This isn't a game, Kuno," Warden said, exasperated.

Kuno snorted once, and then wrapped her hooves around him, kissing him with a heated, fiery passion. "I left you once, Warden. I regretted it immediately. It took me nearly a year to get up the courage to come back. Are you really going to turn me down?"

Warden gave a sigh at that, shaking his head and kissing her warmly in response. "Look, obviously I'd get around to saying 'yes' eventually, but you're throwing kinda a lot in the mix all of a sudden!"

"Oh come on!" Kuno said, exasperated. "It's just a formality! I _already_ own your soul! You stood up to the Guard Captain for me!"

"And got my ass beat," Warden pointed out with a wince.

"And got your ass beat like _hell_," Kuno corrected with a silly grin.

"And you still haven't said it," Warden stated, nudging her once with his nose.

"Said what?" Kuno asked blankly.

"The three little words I wanted to hear from you," Warden said with a slow nod, deadly serious.

Kuno nodded gently at that, and then wrapped her hooves around him. "Say you'll marry me."

"Say it and I will," Warden countered, rubbing his cheek against her own lovingly.

Kuno pulled back, staring into his eyes, and then smiled.

"Warden. I love you."


End file.
